Wind Energy Is Already Playing an Important Role in India, and the Industry Has Established Capacities to Manufacture Large Numbers of Turbines
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Wind EnErgy india Slumbering giant Wind energy is already playing an important role in India, and the industry has established capacities to manufacture large numbers of turbines. Even so, the Union Government in New Delhi has to date been unable to reach a decision on a uniform system of incentives. ndia is one of the five most important wind energy markets in the world. The wind energy resources in Ithis enormous country are more than tempting, and the industrial potential is well developed. But neverthe- less, a wind energy boom has failed to materialise. Over the past few years, India has in fact lost touch with the global leaders. The Indian wind energy market is a world of its own, and there is only minimal trade with foreign partners. Only a few Indian manufacturers export their wind turbines, and there is at the same time very little in the way of imports. An effectively unknown spectrum of small and medium manufacturers is selling exclusively to the Indian market, for the most part in only small numbers. The renunciation of imports also applies to components. The Indian indus- try is itself able to produce rotor blades, transmissions, generators and hubs, and can thus essentially cover do- mestic demand. Several European suppliers have founded facilities of their own in India. LM Glasfiber, for example, manufac- tures rotor blades in two factories in Bangalore. Winergy Construction works in Maharashtra: New and Hansen Transmissions build wind turbine gearboxes turbine manufacturer Kenersys installs in India. And last year, SKF opened a production facility two of its K82 turbines with a capacity of for roller bearings in Ahmedabad (Gujarat), from which it 2 MW each. Photo: Kenersys is hoped to supply some 65 % of the output to the Indian wind energy branch. Only Suzlon is exporting Suzlon is rather a special case among the local manufac- turers. The Indian market leader is the only company ex- porting wind turbines in any appreciable numbers and 102 Sun & Wind Energy 11/2009 even operates additional production locations for a total output of 2,100 MW in India, correspond- abroad. Suzlon manufactures all the important com- ing to a market share of approx. 20 %. It must be ad- ponents in its own factories on three different conti- mitted, however, that this figure includes also the nents, and realised a dramatic expansion of its ca- wind turbines installed in conjunction with RRB. pacities through the acquisition of Belgian gearbox Leitner Shriram Manufacturing Ltd. (LSML) is one specialist Hansen Transmissions in 2006. of the few joint ventures which have so far been In contrast to the other Indian manufacturers, founded to manufacture wind turbines in India. The Suzlon can be termed positively “extroverted” and in company has been in existence since January 2007. spring 2007 even announced a very cost-intensive Italian manufacturer Leitwind AG holds a 51 % stake, takeover of German turbine manufacturer Repower with the remaining 49 % in the hands of Indian part- Systems AG. To achieve this goal, Suzlon had to out- ner Shriram EPC. LSML opened a factory with 300 em- bid the financially strong Areva group. The whole ployees in Gummidipoondi near Chennai last Sep- complex transaction was only recently completed and tember. The company is to manufacture Leitwind’s has cost Suzlon around € 1 billion. There has been lit- gearless wind turbine LTW 77 (1.5 MW), alongside a tle profit to date. But success is only to be expected, 250 kW system developed by Shriram. if at all, in the longer term − and even then only if Suzlon and Repower manage to grow together, to Licences as the starting point share their extensive know-how and to develop the regional markets as partners. For most Indian wind turbine manufacturers – includ- Apart from Suzlon, Vestas is the only major man- ing also the market leader – everything began with a ufacturer operating its own manufacturing facilities in licence agreement. At that time still active in the tex- India. Enercon started a joint venture in 1995, but has tile industry, Suzlon struck up a partnership with Ger- apparently withdrawn in the meantime. The company man manufacturer Südwind in 1995 and subsequent- founded at that time, Enercon India, is now operating ly produced 270 kW turbines in India. This coopera- independently. The other big players in the branch tion, however, was relatively short-lived. Suzlon has are somewhat tentative in their approach to the Indi- long since moved on from production under licence an market. Only a few weeks ago, US manufacturer and today designs wind turbines fully independently. GE Energy revealed that it plans to commence wind The Suzlon turbines S64/S70 (1.25 MW) and S88 turbine production in India. The factory in Southern (2.1 MW) are also successful abroad, above all in the India is scheduled to open in the second half of 2010 USA, China and Australia. and has been designed for an annual capacity of 300 The US company AMSC has been especially pro- wind turbines with an output of 1.5 MW each. At the lific as a licence vendor in India. Last year, Ghoda- same time, the company’s supplier base is to be ex- wat Industries purchased an AMSC licence for a panded, with rotor blades, towers and gearboxes be- 1.65 MW wind turbine and now intends to produce ing purchased from Indian manufacturers. such turbines in an existing factory in Maharashtra. Ghodawat is currently supplying steel towers to The expected growth has failed Joint ventures are the exception Vestas, Suzlon and Enercon India. Inox Wind Ltd. is to materialise in recent years. another AMSC client, having recently acquired a li- The branch even expects a RRB Energy Ltd. is one of the oldest Indian wind ener- cence for a 2 MW turbine. AMSC Windtec will be marked decline in 2009. gy companies. It was the product of a joint venture Source: BTM Consult with Vestas and was already founded in 1987 under the name Vestas RRB India Ltd. Vestas withdrew from Wind energy market in India from 1999 to 2008 the joint venture in September 2006, however, and the company now operates as RRB Energy Ltd. The 2000 1,840 company headquarters is in New Delhi, whereas all 1,810 three production facilities are located in Chennai 1,617 (Tamil Nadu). By August 2009, RRB Energy had installed more 1500 1,390 than 2,000 wind turbines with a total output of 873 MW. A volume of between 120 and 160 MW was achieved in each of the past three years on the basis of wind turbines with nominal outputs of 500 and 1000 600 kW. A 1.8 MW turbine is in development. The MW 875 company manufactures its own rotor blades, genera- tors and controllers. Since the split with RRB, Vestas is concentrating on production of its V82/1650 turbine in Chennai. 500 423 This turbine model, originally engineered together 236 220 with NEG Micon, is no longer considered sufficiently 169 “up-to-date” in Europe, but is nevertheless still very 43 successful for the Danish manufacturer in India. 0 Vestas reports that it has installed various versions 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Sun & Wind Energy 11/2009 103 Wind EnErgy india Locations of manufacturers Jammu & Kashmir and suppliers in India Publisher: SUN & WIND ENERGY www.sunwindenergy.com Himachal Layout: EILERS-Media Pradesh www.eilers-media.de Status: October 2009 Source: own research Punjab Uttaranchal Legend Manufacturers ArunachalSuppliers Pradesh Delhi N N New Delhi Nacelles N Inox Wind R Rotor blades R H Hubs H Rajasthan Sikkim Naga- Uttar G GeneratorsAssam landG Pradesh MeghalayaT Towers T Bihar Manipur Gearboxes Suzlon B TripuraBearings B Mizoram R Jharkhand West Bengal Gujarat B SKF Madhya Bhopal Pradesh T Enercon Kolkata Suzlon T N ChattisgarhT Enercon N R T Suzlon Suzlon R G Enercon Raipur Orissa Mumbai N G Suzlon RRB Energy N Global Maharashtra Wind Power Leitner R Hyderabad LM Glasfiber R Shriram N G N Ghodawat Bangalore Chennai Energy N Karnataka R N Vestas H Andhra Suzlon Winergy Goa Pradesh Andaman & Nicobar Suzlon Tamil Bangalore G Nadu Chennai N G Hansen Tamil R H Suzlon Nadu Transmissions Kerala Kerala supporting Inox with the establishing of a wind tur- with Dutch consultants Lagerwey Wind, is to follow bine facility in Northern India. In Gujarat, Inox is to shortly. The annual manufacturing capacity is to be cooperate with a German partner to manufacture ro- raised to 600 MW by the end of 2010. tor blades and towers. The Inox group, which oper- ates above all in the chemicals sector, is planning to Start-up aid from Germany erect the first wind farms in Gujarat und Rajasthan in the short term, with an output capacity of 200 But there are also exceptions to the rule that Indian MW to add robustness to the power supplies to its manufacturers all base their first steps on a licence own facilities. agreement. Kenersys is a German-Indian company The company Global Wind Power (GWP) was which belongs to the Indian Kalyani group and founded three years ago and supplies relatively small evolved from the German engineering office RSB wind turbines (225 kW) on the basis of a licence from Consult in September 2007. The wind turbine devel- Danish manufacturer Micon. Two further licences are oped by Kenersys is one of the few models which is to enable GWP to progress into higher output class- equipped with a full inverter and thus effectively sat- es: The products in question are a 750 kW turbine de- isfies the grid codes of all operators worldwide.