The latest technological advancement and research in the field of wind energy paints a very promising picture. A few groups working in the US, the Netherlands and Canada are on their way to set up `wind farms' which would have installations towering 9 km up in the sky. As per their estimates, 1% of wind energy at high altitudes can meet all the energy demands of the planet. This would come as a breath of fresh air to power-deficit countries such as India, where growth in wind energy for the last few years has been quite promising.

If India has to sustain its attractive growth of 8 to 9% per annum in GDP it is inevitable that it exploits the alternative sources of energy. The power GDP elasticity in India is estimated to be roughly 1.6% signifying the importance of this sector to the overall growth of the economy. India has been for long and continues to be a power deficit country. If the demand for power is growing at the rate of 8 to 9%, the supply has been growing at a rate of 4% causing a wide deficit. Exploitation of the alternative sources of energy, especially solar and wind energy, is foreseen as some solution to this problem. The growth in the production of wind energy for the past few years in India and some parts of the world is quite promising. The Current Indian and Global Scenarios Wind is the fastest growing energy source in the world growing at a rate of 30% per annum.

India now ranks fourth in the world in terms of wind energy production. The world scenario of wind energy depicts that Germany has the highest installed capacity of 17,000 MW followed by Spain, the US, India, Denmark and other countries summing up to 48,451 MW of total production. Global wind energy production is expected to reach 1,17,412 MW in 2009 with Asia (India and China) having the highest growth next only to Australia. The installed capacity currently in India stands at around 5,340 MW. But this is far from 45,000 MW, which has been estimated by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in India as India’s actual potential. However, the growth in this sector in the last decade has been quite spectacular.

In March 1996, the installed capacity was worth of 733 MW whereas in 2006 it has grown to 5,340 MW. At present, the contribution from the renewable energy sources, solar and wind is quite meager at 5% of the total power produced in India. Suzlon Energy Ltd., Enron India Ltd., Shriram EPC Ltd., Southern Wind Farms Ltd. and Vestas Wind Technology India Ltd., are some of the major players owning windmills in India. Other than the fact that wind is a renewable source of energy there are many boons associated with this form of energy. Fossil fuels which are a source of non-renewable sources of energy are depleting at a faster rate.

MBA Review Magazine, Wind Energy, Gross Domestic Products, GDP, Suzlon Energy Ltd., Enron India Ltd., Vestas Wind Technology India Ltd., Indian Wind Energy Association, Research and Devolopment, R&D, Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, MNES, Renewable Energy in India.