India’s Wind Ambitions and UK Offshore Expansion

This episode covers India's ambitious plans to double its wind
energy capacity by 2030, the UK's expansion of offshore wind farms,
and the US states' legal challenge against President Trump's
executive order halting wind energy development. Sign up now for
Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind
technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard
Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape
Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show
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YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the
show? Email us! Allen Hall: Starting the week off in
India, India's wind energy sector is investing heavily in capacity
and workforce development to double its current 50 gigawatt
capacity by 2030. The Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association
says they're focusing on technology innovations while advancing the
Make in India mission to achieve this ambitious target. The country
already has 18 gigawatts of annual manufacturing capacity for
turbines and components. Companies like LAN and zf Windpower
produce critical parts locally. Positioning India as a potential
global export hub. Renewable sector hiring is expected to grow by
19% this year in India with most workers being
young [00:01:00] Indians between 26 and 35 years old.
Over in the uk the UK's Crown estate has approved expansion of high
density wind farms on existing seabed leases to support the
country's energy transition. Seven projects will increase capacity
by 4.7 gigawatts helping Britain towards its target of 50 gigawatts
of offshore wind by 2030. Up from the current 15 gigawatts projects
include RWE's Ramon two and SSE's and Equinor's Dogger Bank D. The
Crown Estate's Marine director Gus Jasper says, this capacity
increase program will provide up to 4 million homes with clean
energy and decrease the UK's reliance on internationally sourced
fossil fuels. Britain is already the world's second largest
offshore wind market after China, though inflation and supply chain
issues have challenged the sector recently. Over in the United
States, a coalition of 17 states and Washington [00:02:00]DC
has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's executive
order halting wind energy development. The order signed on his
first day in office, pauses, approvals, permits, and loans for all
wind projects, both offshore and onshore. New York Attorney General
Letitia James leading the coalition argues the directive threatens
thousands of good paying jobs and billions in investment while
delaying the transition away from fossil fuels. The administration
recently ordered Norwegian company Ecuador to halt construction on
Empire Wind, one near Long Island, despite the project being 30%
complete after a seven year permitting process. Wind currently
provides about 10% of US electricity, making it the nation's
largest renewable energy source. The states argued Trump's order
contradicts years of bipartisan support for wind energy and his own
declaration of quote, a national energy emergency unquote calling
for expanded domestic energy production.[00:03:00] The
administration has also suspended funding for floating offshore
wind research in Maine and revoked permits for a project in New
Jersey. Internationally, other nations are accelerating wind
investments with the UK and Canada's Nova Scotia recently
announcing major offshore expansion plans. That's this week's top
News stories. Tune in tomorrow for the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast.