Juniper Green adds 82 MW wind capacity, installs India's biggest turbine

Mumbai-based Juniper Green Energy has added 82 megawatts of wind power capacity to its portfolio. The company has also commissioned what it calls India's largest wind turbine, a 4.2 MW machine at its project site in Gujarat.

The new capacity comes from a mix of turbines spread across two states. Juniper Green installed 50 MW in Gujarat and another 32 MW in Karnataka. The 4.2 MW turbine, built at the Gujarat site, is the single largest wind turbine ever deployed in India.

Juniper Green now runs a total wind power capacity of 310 MW. The company says the new projects will feed power into the national grid under long-term power purchase agreements.

The 4.2 MW turbine uses a larger rotor diameter and taller hub height than older models. That lets it catch more wind, even at lower speeds. Juniper Green expects the machine to generate more electricity per unit of land compared to smaller turbines. That matters in India, where good wind sites are getting harder to find.

The company is part of the AT Group, a larger Indian business house with interests in power and infrastructure. Juniper Green has been growing its clean energy footprint over the last few years. It now has a combined wind and solar capacity of over 1.5 GW across several states.

Wind power has been a tough business in India lately. Auction prices have fallen, and developers have struggled with grid connectivity and land acquisition. But bigger turbines are changing the math. A single 4.2 MW machine can replace several smaller ones, cutting installation and maintenance costs. That makes projects more viable even at lower tariffs.

Juniper Green's move comes at a time when the Indian government is pushing for 140 GW of wind capacity by 2030. The country currently has about 44 GW. To hit that target, developers will need to install roughly 12 GW of new wind capacity every year for the next six years. That's more than double the current annual installation rate.

The company did not disclose the exact cost of the new projects. But industry estimates suggest that a 4.2 MW turbine, with installation and grid connection, can cost around ₹7-8 crore per megawatt. That would put the total investment for the 82 MW at roughly ₹600-650 crore.

Juniper Green has also signed a power purchase agreement with a large commercial and industrial buyer for a portion of the output. Such deals are becoming more common as companies look to buy clean power directly from developers.

The new turbine was supplied by a European manufacturer, though Juniper Green did not name the vendor. Most large turbines in India come from companies like Siemens Gamesa, Vestas, or GE. Indian manufacturers like Suzlon and Inox Wind have also started making bigger machines, but their largest models are still around 3 MW.

For now, Juniper Green's 4.2 MW turbine sets a new benchmark. Whether other developers follow suit will depend on how well these machines perform in India's variable wind conditions.