Subsidiary lines up Rs 1,000 cr for greenfield unit near Silvassa.
Riding high on the increasing demand for alternative energy, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) is all set to become a fully-integrated player in the wind energy sector with its newly-formed arm Global Wind Energy (GWE). The subsidiary company will manufacture wind farm equipment, right from turbines, towers to even blades.
ADAG has lined up about Rs 1,000 crore for a greenfield project in Kherdi, 22 km from the union territory region of Silvassa, where it has acquired close to 50 acres of land, sources familiar with the development told Business Standard.
What’s more, the company has begun necessary spadework for the project and will commence commercial production in the next two-to-three months.
Close on the heels of Reliance Infrastructure forming a joint venture with Shanghai Engineering to set up a manufacturing facility for power generation equipment, another venture already on a roll marks a significant focus of the group on the sector.
GWE has tied up with leading wind energy players across the globe as technology partners. The first phase, slated to be completed before this calendar year, will see wind turbines of 750 KW being rolled out.
The overall production capacity is projected to be about 750 MW every year, industry sources said. At a later stage, the unit will generate turbines that can generate about 2 MW. ADAG officials refused to comment on the development.
“Given the current scenario and scale of the GWE project, it could well emerge as the second largest wind player in India after Suzlon,” industry sources said.
Sources also pointed out that GWE’s main focus would be on the domestic front where there is immense potential, especially with Suzlon focusing on overseas markets.
In the first phase, GWE’s Silvassa unit will roll out 750 KW wind turbines and for this the company has roped in Denmark’s Norwin.
The next two phases will see production of 1.5 MW of wind turbine generator, for which it has entered into a technical tie-up with Germany’s Fuhrlander AG and for 2 MW, it has roped in the Netherlands-based Lagarwey as technology partner, sources said.
The company’s order book for 750 MW is full as of now, sources added. The average growth of wind industry is projected at 25 per cent for the next five years. With the current installed wind turbine capacity of about 8,000 MW, India is the world’s fourth largest wind power producer, according to sources.
Another ADAG subsidiary, Reliance Wind Energy, has said that it would set up 500 MW of wind power in various states over the next three years. The company had earlier this year placed a Rs 900-crore order with Suzlon Energy for setting up 150 MW wind power project in Maharashtra.
ADAG is also in talks with the Gujarat government for setting up 200 MW wind power projects for an estimated investment of Rs 1,200 crore.
