Suzlon revs up wind power

Indian wind power giant Suzlon Energy says it aims to sign $1 billion worth of new orders every quarter. "We are working on value engineering by introducing new products like the S9X series of turbines that will not only enable us (to) reduce cost but also give us a competitive advantage in the market," Suzlon Chairman and Managing Director Tulsi R. Tanti told Press Trust of India. "With the new technology, we aim to bag orders worth $1 billion every quarter, every year." The S9X series of low-wind speed, 2 megawatt-class turbines are available in 270- or 327-foot hub heights, with a rotor diameter of 312 or 315 feet, increasing energy yield 14-19 percent, Suzlon says. Suzlon has also started on its 9X suite of turbines, with a capacity of 3 megawatts for developed markets and 6 megawatts for offshore markets. "By bringing in these new technologies, we expect to bring down material consumption in all the three platforms by 10 percent each. The S9X product suite is designed to provide higher return on investment for our customers through higher generation, greater efficiency and improved technology," said Tanti. With new technology, he said, the company expects to reduce the cost per energy 25 percent over the next two years. In October Suzlon completed the process of acquiring German subsidiary REpower Systems after Suzlon first acquired a stake in the company in 2007. With REpower now fully under Suzlon's control, Suzlon said it expects to cut $269 million from its overall cost structure the next fiscal year, mostly from sourcing more components from India and China, Tanti told India's Economic Times newspaper. With the acquisition complete Suzlon plans to focus on emerging markets such as India, China, South America and Africa while REpower will focus on developed markets with demand for high-megawatt wind turbines such as the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe as well as the entire market for offshore installations. Suzlon accounts for nearly 45 percent of India's wind market, figures from the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association indicate. Tanti predicts that the domestic wind sector will grow 25-30 percent annually for the next five years, with installations of about 3 gigawatts in 2011 and "something between 3.5 gigawatts and 4 gigawatts next year," ReCharge newspaper reports. While India has set a renewable energy target of 15 percent by 2020, it currently relies on coal to generate nearly 70 percent of its electricity. Nearly 40 percent of Indian households have no access to electricity.