As part of a larger ambition to install 500 GW of renewable energy by the end of the decade, India hopes to build 140 gigawatts (GW) of the wind power by 2030, which could supply electricity to about 100 million homes. Nandha Kishore S.R. was attracted by the wind turbine when he was a little child and fantasised about operating one while he grew up in southern India.
Years later, the genetic modification graduate who had received his training at the same Chennai-based institution began working in the industry. He first evaluated India’s potential for wind energy, then calculated electricity production, and is now evaluating potential wind farm sites.
That enabled him to weather the industry’s turbulent five-year era, which saw retrenchment and stunted growth as a result of stranded projects brought on by a new wind farm development bidding process meant to lower the cost of electrical production.
The government eliminated the bidding procedure this year, cancelled fees for the transfer of wind energy between states, and established new renewable energy zones to free up space for wind farm developers in an effort to revitalise the industry.
Kishore, 33, is currently getting a PhD in artificial intelligence in an effort to protect himself from any job insecurity in the future and to stay indispensable as the wind power business relies more and more on technology.
“Companies will grow, and there will be additional employment over the next few years,” he said over the phone from Chennai. “But the long-term viability of jobs remains a question.”
As part of a larger ambition to install 500 GW of renewable energy by the end of the decade, India hopes to build 140 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy by 2030, which could supply electricity to about 100 million homes.
According to Martand Shardul, policy director for India at the Global Wind Energy Council, wind is essential for India’s energy transformation since supplying 24/7 green electricity will demand faster deployment of wind and solar energy to provide grid resilience and the balancing of various sources. If wind energy is not fully utilised, India and other countries may not be able to meet their net-zero (emission) goals, according to Shardul.
In the world’s most populous nation, where tens of millions of people are unemployed and coal jobs are anticipated to diminish as India transitions itself off the planet-heating power generated by fossil fuels over the next few decades, the sector will also generate employment.
The South Asian country could add nearly 150,000 wind jobs by 2030, up from approximately 26,000 positions in 2021, according to the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), an India-based think group.
Yadlapalli, Vijay According to Venkat Ramana, a previous leader executive officer of Suzlon Energy Limited, the wind power industry is more labor-intensive than solar since building turbines and creating and maintaining wind farms requires more technical training and expertise. On the other side, most unskilled work is used by solar power facilities to trim the grass and clean the panels.
India, which now ranks fourth in the world for wind power capacity, plans to auction 8 GW of wind generating projects year until 2030.
“Some projects are still in the planning stages. Jobs are already coming in, according to Ramana.
Primary Offshore Wind Farm
In order to reach its 2030 renewable energy objective, India is betting on the increase of wind power, with solar power making up the majority of the remaining capacity.
The first offshore wind farm in the nation will be built in the southern Tamil Nadu state, and the government has announced that a tender will shortly be released. Construction is scheduled to begin in around four years.
Dinesh Jagdale, joint secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, noted that wind will be required for electricity utilities as part of their energy mix and that offshore projects will enhance India’s wind supply chain and installation business.
Analysts warned that while these actions should revitalise the industry, they might not be able to fast or significantly increase job growth.
According to the International Energy Agency, solar and wind energy support 7.8 million jobs worldwide, with more than half of those jobs located in the Asia-Pacific area.
According to data from CEEW, solar accounted for the remaining 75% of India’s more than 110,000 employees in the renewable energy sources sector as of 2021, with wind accounting for only 25%.
Lack of skills, such as those required for marine bed surveys and constructing structures in the sea for offshore wind plants as well as increased use of artificial intelligence and technology for onshore facilities, may impede further job development in the wind industry, according to analysts.
The chairman and CEO of renewable energy manufacturer ReNew Power, Sumant Sinha, cited a “talent crunch in the industry” and urged businesses to invest in employee training and skill-development.
By providing training at state-run wind energy institutions, India is attempting to close the talent demand-supply gap before offshore wind farms, with 4 GW of new capacity expected over each of the next three years, come online.
Ajay Devaraj, secretary-general of the Indian Wind Power Association, said that although people are required to rectify any issues, technology, such as drones, is used to find problems with wind turbines.
