Ahmedabad, April 15 (IANS) Adani Wind has commissioned a 5-megawatt (MW) 185-metre rotor diameter wind turbine prototype at Gujarat’s Mundra, featuring wind blades among the largest in India and adding to the next generation of turbine platforms emerging in the country.

The installation marks a step in the acceleration of India’s wind energy sector transition to higher-capacity turbines as developers seek to harness greater output from increasingly constrained land resources.

The Adani Wind prototype is equipped with a 91.2-metre blade and a 185-metre rotor diameter, making it among the largest in India. With a swept area of 26,600 square metres, the machine is designed for low to medium wind regimes, enabling higher energy capture and improved efficiency.

The 5 MW platform has been developed through collaboration between Adani Wind’s engineering teams in India and WindtoEnergy, Germany, incorporating features tailored to local operating conditions.

With the new 5 MW model, Adani Wind is equipped to cater to wider low to medium-wind sites across the country. Four of its existing variants are already listed under the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), the government’s mandatory empanelment framework for wind turbine deployment in India. Certification and inclusion of the new model in the ALMM are expected in the coming months.

According to the latest ALMM list issued by the MNRE on April 2, India has 15 approved wind turbine manufacturers. The highest-rated models include a 5.3 MW turbine from Venwind Refex Power, a 5.2 MW platform from Adani Wind, a 5 MW turbine from Envision, and a 4 MW turbine from SANY, highlighting the sector’s move towards higher-capacity machines.

India’s wind manufacturing ecosystem has expanded rapidly, with domestic capacity increasing from around 12 gigawatts (GW) in 2022 to nearly 20 GW, spanning nacelles, blades, towers, and key components. This growth is positioning India as a competitive hub in the global clean energy supply chain.

Data from BloombergNEF shows global wind installations reached a record 169 GW in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of expansion and a 38 per cent increase over the previous year. While China remains dominant, India has emerged as the largest market outside China, overtaking both the US and Germany. Adani Wind featured as India’s only wind turbine maker in BloombergNEF’s global Top 15 for signalling India’s growing role in the clean-energy supply chain.

India ranks fourth globally in cumulative installed wind capacity, with approximately 55 GW operational, and an estimated technical potential exceeding 1,100 GW. The Global Wind Energy Council estimates that if annual installations reach 15 GW by 2030, the country could account for around 10 per cent of global wind turbine demand.

The Mundra installation also reflects broader investments in manufacturing scale. Adani Wind has announced plans to expand capacity from 2.25 GW to 5 GW annually, with a longer-term target of 10 GW.

The company has initiated global engagement, including exports of blade sets to Europe with anti-icing technology, and ongoing discussions in markets such as the US, Australia, Brazil, and Southeast Asia.

With increasing focus on automation, robotics and recyclable materials, India’s wind manufacturing sector is aligning more closely with global benchmarks.

–IANS

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