MC Newsbreak Confirmed: Govt bars data sharing for wind turbines; mandates using domestic components

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The Union government in an order issued on July 31 imposed a ban on sharing operational data of Indian wind energy installations with other countries. It also mandated the use of only domestic components such as blades, towers, gearboxes and generators in wind turbines for all renewable energy projects up for bidding from hereon.

On July 14, Moneycontrol had reported that government notification is expected in about three weeks. Other directives under the new ‘cybersecurity clause’ include setting up R&D (research and development) and data centres in India by July 31, 2026. This timeline has been revised from six months proposed earlier on the request of leading companies in the sector such as Envision Energy India.

India has at least 14 wind turbine manufacturers with a combined capacity of over 20 gigawatts (GW). While key Indian players include Suzlon Energy and the Adani group, Chinese firms such as the Envision group and Sany group have also set up manufacturing units, as have companies from the US, Spain, Denmark, Germany, and so on.

Wind turbines are considered a bigger cybersecurity risk than solar or thermal energy systems due to their distributed nature, reliance on remote monitoring and control, and the potential for significant disruption if compromised.

Also read: India is using only 20% of its 20 GW annual wind turbine manufacturing capacity: Suzlon Group CEO.

The move to localise components of wind turbines is aimed at increasing their manufacturing capacities in India. Besides, the government also hopes the mandate will compel manufacturers to sell in India with the increase in domestic demand instead of exporting more.

Currently, wind turbine components such as blades, towers, gearboxes and generators are mostly imported from China. In India, these components are assembled inside nacelles. A nacelle houses the wind turbine's generator and gearbox. Another component - 'hub' - connects the blades and transmits their rotation to the nacelle. Nacelles and hub are also manufactured in India to a large extent as of now.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) which issued the July 31 order stated that the domestic component mandate for wind turbines will not be applicable on wind projects the have already been bid out. Besides, captive wind energy used by the commercial and industrial sector apart from third party sale projects that are to be commissioned within 18 months from July 31, 2025 will also be exempted from the domestic component mandate.

"In addition, new wind turbine manufacturer and/or new wind turbine models will be exempted from mandatory use of components listed in approved list of models and manufacturers (Wind Turbine Components) for a total capacity of 800 MW for a period of two years to promote the new technologies having new innovation and performance efficiency not available indigenously," read the MNRE order.

India plans to add 500 GW of non-fossil power generating capacity by 2030. Of this, 100 GW has to come from wind energy, which is why the government is taking such measures to boost local production and reduce reliance on China.