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Gujarat opens rooftops to wind power under new renewable energy policy
Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel unveiled the policy at an event in the state capital on 25 December
Gujarat’s new renewable energy policy has opened the door to individuals installing mini- and micro-wind turbines on the rooftops of private premises for on-site consumption and limited grid export.
The Integrated Renewable Energy Policy, which was notified on December 25, aims to provide a comprehensive framework for clean energy expansion until 2030 and positions the state as a competitive renewable energy hub. It has targeted over 100 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
A senior official of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited said there were only a handful of manufacturers, mostly startups, in the rooftop wind energy space which could expand. “The policy is for the next five years. Some companies are active in the market and pilot projects have been carried out. Some installations are in place, though the numbers remain limited. Several startups are working in this segment,” the official said.
He said rooftop wind plants could cost about ₹1 lakh per kilowatt of generation capacity, making them more expensive than solar plants. However, utilisation levels of a wind system are expected to be higher than those of solar.
“Wind systems can deliver around 35 per cent generation, compared to about 18 to 20 per cent for solar panels. A hybrid of wind and solar rooftops can work well to optimise overall cost and output,” the official said.
He added that the current policy was not centred on subsidies. “It is not about subsidy as of now. The focus is on registration, enabling systems and preparing for the future,” he said, adding that the state was looking at long-term potential rather than immediate scale.
Revayu Energy, a Pune-based firm working on rooftop and small-scale wind systems in Gujarat, said it had done a few rooftop pilot projects in Gujarat cities such as Surat and Porbandar.
“One of them is a hybrid and both are connected to the grid. For installation, commissioning and testing of the pilot projects the cost was about ₹2 lakh per kilowatt generation but this can come down to around ₹80,000-90,000 per kilowatt as per the new Gujarat government policy,” said Shravan Kumar Verma, Project Execution Head, Revayu Energy.
