FRESH CROP. Advanced turbine technology is taking wind projects to areas previously considered unsuitable | Photo Credit: Bloomberg Creative Photos

By the looks of it, 2025-26 was a dream year for the Indian wind industry. It installed a record 6.05 GW of fresh wind power, comfortably surpassing the previous high of 5.2 GW in 2015-16. Further, the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) is confident of an encore, projecting fresh installations of 8 GW in the current year.

So, all well in the wind industry?

Not at all.

At the Global Wind Day conference held in Goa on June 15, the mood among industry participants was anything but celebratory. Every speaker, without exception, harped on the same subject: Right of way, or RoW, challenges.

This complaint is years-old but executives say it has now assumed serious proportions. Wind projects are particularly vulnerable because they are spread over large areas and require the movement of oversized cargo, heavy cranes and construction material through multiple parcels of land. Access roads, transmission lines and turbine locations... all become potential points of conflict.

The challenge is growing because the industry is spreading out more. Earlier, wind farms were concentrated in a handful of high-wind locations in a few states. Today, advances in turbine technology have made it viable to develop projects in areas that were previously considered unsuitable. This has brought developers into conflict with a larger number of landowners and local interest groups.

Protests, higher compensation demands and, in some cases, threat to life and property are making projects more difficult and costlier to execute, members of the industry say. “RoW-related issues have gone beyond genuine compensation concerns,” alleges UB Reddy, Vice-Chairman of the Indian Wind Power Association (IWPA).

He told businessline that farmers alone are usually not the problem. In fact, landowners often welcome wind projects because they enhance land value and are an additional source of income.

“They are instigated to obstruct the projects by local miscreants,” says Reddy, who is the Managing Director of Enerfra Projects India Pvt Ltd, which builds wind projects for energy developers.

Law-and-order issue

The tussle over fair compensation is increasingly turning into a law-and-order problem, industry executives say.

The timing of the disruption often leaves developers with little room to manoeuvre. Protests may erupt after the foundation has been partly cast or sections of a turbine tower have been erected. By then, the developers would have committed substantial capital and delays become expensive, they say.

In one instance, a project near Bijapur, in Karnataka, was stalled after some people allegedly dug up a public road, making it impossible to move cranes and other construction equipment from storage yards to the project site. “RoW-related extortion has become highly organised, with dedicated groups targeting wind energy developers,” Reddy says. The projects move through cycles of delay and release, resuming only after fresh negotiations and compensation payments.

The issue has turned more acute with the increase in turbine sizes — blades are more than 80 m long, worsening transportation issues.

Problem vs performance

But what explains the record installations in the face of such difficulties?

“It is a myth that the industry is doing well,” says Reddy. According to him, the record 6.05 GW achieved in 2025-26 was partly due to the bunching up of projects in a single year. A similar bunching effect could support installation numbers this year as well, but the impact of the persistent RoW bottlenecks would become visible in subsequent years, he warns.

When businessline raised the issue with Santosh Sarangi, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, he acknowledged the challenges but noted that they largely come under the domain of State governments. Industry executives say State-level intervention is often complicated by local political dynamics, alleging that disruptive elements enjoy the backing of local political leaders.

This view was echoed, albeit diplomatically, by Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Prahlad Joshi. The minister told businessline that the Centre was in discussions with State governments on the issue. State governments understand the problem, he said, but some local netas create obstacles.

Meanwhile, the delays and mounting compensation payouts are increasing project costs and slowing capacity addition.

India today has 56.8 GW of installed wind capacity. The government’s target is 100 GW by 2030, necessitating annual additions of 11 GW over the next four years.

Industry leaders warn this could prove difficult until the RoW issue is resolved.

AP model

Dr M Kamalakar Babu, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP Ltd, the nodal agency for renewable energy in Andhra Pradesh, told businessline that the State does not have RoW issues since it leases land from the owners at ₹30,000 an acre per year, with 5 per cent escalation every two years. Many landowners have opted in and the State is in the process of acquiring 1.5 lakh acres on a 25-year lease for renewable energy development.

Wind industry insiders agreed that AP has vast tracts of lands ripe for acquisition.

Published on June 22, 2026