Facts

In more than 80 countries around the world, wind farms are in operation, generating wind energy from a clean and renewable source.
According to globalwindday.org, wind energy is now a mature and widely used technology.
It is also one of the fastest-growing industrial areas, with over $100 billion spent in 2015.

India

in first half of 2025, added 3.5 GW to the wind sector. ¹
that is 82% year on year growth.
This takes the total installed capacity to 51.3 GW. ¹
India's gross wind power potential is 1163.9 GW at 150 m above the ground level. ¹

EU

In the previous year, the wind industry installed more than the gas and coal sectors combined in the EU.
It also has the installed capacity to power 87 million households or 15 percent of the region's electrical demand.

Phenomenon

Wind is a phenomenon that is generated when air warms up, expands and rises until its temperature is equal to that of the surrounding air.
The curious thing is that the air is not heated directly by solar radiation but, in a way, absorbs heat from both the ground and water surfaces.
The movement of the air, roughly speaking, is from the tropics to the equator and, as it cools, it returns through the upper layers to the tropics.

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

2007 - first Wind Day

In 2007, The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) organized the first Wind Day.

2009 - first global event

In 2009 the EWEA joined forces with the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and made it a worldwide event.

Current trend

In recent years, WindEurope and the GWEC have organized the day together.

Photo competition in 2012

In 2012, the organization sponsored a photo competition. People around the world were encouraged to enter photos that best captured the theme for the year.

Themes in recent times

"The Wind in Mind"
"Future Wind."

Wind Power

The conversion of wind energy into a usable form of energy, such as utilizing wind turbines to generate electricity, windmills to provide mechanical power, wind pumps to pump or drain water, or sails to move ships, is known as wind power.

Employment generation

Wind energy also generates employment.
Wind turbine service technicians are the second fastest-growing vocation in the United States.
Many other countries, in addition to the United States, are making use of these advantages.

Wind energy producers

China, Germany, India, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Brazil are among the world's leading wind energy producers.

Advantagess

Wind energy has the following advantages, according to the Department of Energy:

It is one of the most cost-efficient energy sources.
Wind energy is a clean energy source since it is not reliant on fossil fuels like coal.
Wind energy is a viable alternative to fossil fuels since it is abundant, renewable, broadly spread, clean, emits no greenhouse gases while in operation, and requires minimal land.
It is a renewable energy source that will never run out.
With the threat of global warming approaching, it's more important than ever to make optimal use of energy sources like wind.

WIND DAY 2024 THEME

Global Wind Day 2024 is based on the theme of celebrating the benefits of wind energy and educating individuals about the power and potential of wind energy to change the world.
On this day, wind energy enterprises and organizations all around the world hold a variety of events.
Among the attractions are educational seminars, trips to wind farms, wind turbine demonstrations, and parades.
National wind energy groups and firms interested in wind energy generation organize events in various countries across the world in collaboration with EWEA and GWVEC.

DOMESTIC WIND MANUFACTURING CAPACITY:

India has made great strides in the generation of wind energy over the years, and it now ranks fourth in wind power capacity in the world.
Wind energy is crucial to India's efforts to achieve its goal of having 50% of its electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030 and to achieve Net Zero by 2070.
India has significant potential for both onshore and offshore wind energy production.
With the continuous efforts from the government, the country has developed around 15 GW of domestic wind manufacturing capacity, making it AatmaNirbhar.

World's highest bird death rates at Thar Desert Wind Farms

Addition of wind power capacity comes at the expense of avian welfare. Concerns about the impact of wind turbines on fauna, particularly birds.

Bird mortality rates at wind farms are the highest in the world in India's Thar Desert - Wildlife Institute of India.

Home to Indian Bustard

The 3,000 sq.km desert landscape in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, is home to around 900 wind turbines and 272 bird species, like critically endangered Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps).

Part of central asia flyway

Thar Desert is also part of the Central Asia Flyway, a major migration route for birds across Eurasia, a prominent wintering destination.

The desert mortality also included the bird collisions with power lines linked to the wind turbines.

Raptors, most affected

Raptors, are the most affected group of birds, due to their flight style and low reproductive rates. ¹

Mitigation measures

Birdlife International proposed mitigations measures , like

painting one of the turbine blades to increase the visibility
shutting the turbines down at a certain time of day or season
carefully select the site of the wind farm

Off shore wind, an alternative

Operational off shore wind capacity world wide is currently around 83GW.

India's potential in Off shores

With coastline across 7,600 km and exclusive economic zones covering 2.3 million sq.km , India has a considerable offshore potential of its own. It aims to install 30GW of capacity by 2030. ¹

Requires EIA studies

Offshore wind energy is a complex infrastructure asset that requires detailed marine spatial planning exercises to assess environmental and social impacts.

This also needs better environmental assessment studies to avoid harming marine ecosystems.

References

The Hindu 03.08.2025 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵