India added a record 5,400 MW of wind power capacity in 2016-17, a government statement said on Sunday. The previous high was the 3,472-MW added in 2015-16.

Notably, 2,026 MW was added in March, beating the March 2016 record of 1,700 MW.

Also, with the addition of 5,400 MW (which appears to be a rounded figure), the country’s wind power capacity stands at 31,177 MW.

Andhra Pradesh topped installations with 2,190 MW; Gujarat stood second at 1,275 MW and Karnataka followed with 882 MW.

Breaching the 5-GW comes at a time when the wind industry prepares to hold an international conference, Windergy 2017, between April 25 and 27, in New Delhi.

A BusinessLine report on February 19 quoted the Chairman of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers’ Association, Sarvesh Kumar, as saying that wind power installations in 2016-17 would cross the 5 GW mark. The report also mentioned that wind power developers had rushed to complete projects so as to be able to avail themselves of the ‘generation-based incentive’ scheme that expired on March 31. Industry sources are, however, confident that the government would bring back the incentive.

Wind industry observers feel 2017-18 will be a good year too. In addition to the demand from the eight windy States, the Centre has begun auctioning capacity, buying power to sell to States without wind potential. Already, 1,000 MW capacity has been auctioned.

India now has the fourth-highest wind capacity in the world after China (145 GW), US (74 GW) and Germany (44 GW). The government aims to increase capacity to 60,000 MW by 2022.

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