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India’s wind power sector is raising concerns over a proposed rule by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy that mandates key components of wind turbines—blades, towers, gearboxes, and generators—must be made locally.
A proposed rule of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy that mandates higher indigenisation of wind turbines has got the industry up in arms; many wind industry leaders have been writing to the ministry seeking more time for compliance.
One industry leader, who asked not to be named, said the rule could potentially endanger Rs 50,000 crore of upcoming investments.
Under a ‘Draft amendment to Procedure for inclusion/ updating Wind Turbine Model in the Revised List of Models and Manufacturers of wind turbine (RLMM),‘ issued on April 17, the ministry says it will approve a machine for sales in India only if the blades, tower, gearbox and generator are all manufactured locally.
The proposed rule exempts manufacturers of up to ‘50 wind turbines or 200 MW, whichever is lower’, for the first year after inclusion in the RLMM. However, the requirement related to the gearbox and generator shall be applicable after six months from April 17.
Industry veteran Madhusudan Khemka, who is now an adviser to Refex Energy’s new venture, told businessline that while the industry welcomed efforts towards higher indigenisation, creating facilities in India for large turbines—such as 5 MW—would take at least two years.
Khemka noted that since windy sites have mostly been taken up, projects can come up in less windy sites. This calls for larger capacity machines that can start spinning at low wind speeds. There is no manufacturing facility in India to make gearboxes for large machines, though there is surplus capacity for smaller ones.
“Currently, there are constraints in the local vendor base availability for component manufacturing of larger-sized wind turbines (5.3 MW) like ours in India,” says Anil Jain, Founder and Managing Director of Refex Energy, adding that it takes time to develop local manufacturing capability for a higher level of indigenisation.
“If imports are restricted now, we will be forced to use small turbines, making wind power costlier for consumers,” says Vineet Mittal, Chairman of Avaada group, which has large interests in wind and solar.
Mittal calls for “a phased policy with clear, component-level guidelines” that should become applicable only after 2028.
G Rethinakumar, President of NGC Transmission, a gearbox manufacturer with a factory in Sri City industrial estate near Chennai, also told businessline that it would take 2-3 years “to get the supply chain arranged”.
Some insiders believe that the proposed rule is being introduced at the behest of some local turbine manufacturers, who may not yet have larger machines for low-wind sites.
Cyber security
The draft amendments also mandate the relocation of data centres and servers in India, where all data pertaining to the turbine shall be stored. “Transferring real-time operational data outside India shall be prohibited; operational control of wind turbine must be conducted exclusively from a facility located within India,” it says. It also mandates locating R&D centres for wind turbines within six months.
The industry says that there is no problem in complying with these requirements.
India has 50,037 MW of installed capacity, and another 26,498 MW are under construction.
Published on May 13, 2025
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