Martand Shardul, a former fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute has joined the Global Wind Energy Council India (GWEC India) as its first Policy Director. Shardul has over 10 years of experience in public policy, clean energy analytics and digital transformation in India and abroad.

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While announcing Shardul's appointment, Ben Backwell, Chief Executive Officer of GWEC said that they have made great strides since establishing in India in November 2020 and working with local stakeholders to reenergise growth in the country’s wind market.

"With the addition of Martand as Policy Director to our local team, we will be able to take our work to the next level through his decade of experience driving sustainable development and energy transition. We are thrilled to use his expertise to help India tap into its massive wind power potential," Backwell said.

Shardul, who is looking forward to accelerate wind power development in India, said it is currently one of the most cost-competitive and reliable power sources in the country and will be a key technology to feed India's growing power demand.

"At GWEC India, I look forward to supporting the Government of India’s endeavours to realise their target of 140 GW of wind power capacity by 2030 and drive a green recovery," he added.

Shardul has previously worked with the World Health Organization, World Bank Group, Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development, Power Finance Corporation Limited and Department for International Development, UK Aid.

As GWEC India's Policy Director, he will lead its engagement with the government and other key stakeholders to address key policy bottlenecks for unleashing the growth potential of both onshore and offshore wind power.

GWEC India, along with MEC Intelligence, will jointly publish the second edition of the India Wind Outlook report in May. It will also organise the first-ever India Wind Power conference from September 15-17, which will bring together government, industry, and other stakeholders to discuss scaling up of wind power to achieve India's climate targets.