The two-year collaboration between the Department of Energy and the six manufacturers - GE Energy, Siemens Power Generation, Vestas Wind Systems, Clipper Turbine Works, Suzlon Energy, and Gamesa Corporation, are aimed to promote wind energy in the U.S. through advanced technology research and development, and siting strategies aimed to advance industrial wind power manufacturing capabilities, said a DoE press release.
The six companies will collaborate to improve the quality of turbine components and to reduce installation and operating costs. Further, the partners, along with the US Department of Energy, will address environmental and technical issues and develop standards for turbine certification, employee standards and grid connection, added the release.
US is the fastest growing wind energy market in the world with 30 per cent annual growth in the last five years and with over 25 per cent of the global installed capacity. In 2007, the US's cumulative wind energy capacity reached 16818 megawatts (MW) with more than 5000 MW of wind power added in 2007 with an investment of $ 9 billion. Now wind power is the second largest new power generation source in the US, next to natural gas.
The Rs 13,769 crore Suzlon Energy has already captured over 8 per cent of the US wind energy market in the recent 2-3 years. Suzlon has a supply order of 600 MW in two years from the Hoizon Wind Energy of Texas, one of the largest wind power developers in the US.
Suzlon had to recently face the issue of blade cracking discovered during the operations of some of its S-88 turbines in the United States. The company is currently implementing a Rs100 crore retrofit program for the structural strengthening of the damaged 1,251(417 sets) blades installed in different wind locations. Suzlon Rotor Corporation, its US subsidiary which manufactures wind turbine blades and nose cones at Pipestone, Minnesota, also was fined by the local Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for allegedly violating air pollution control norms.
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Suzlon's shares slipped by 3.60 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange today, from the Rs 268.05 at close of trading yesterday to Rs 258.40 at close.