Danish wind player plans to invest Rs 1,750 crore for the project.
Gujarat, especially Kutch, seems to have caught the fancy of global players in the wind power space.
Suzlon Energy, the third largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world, has already decided to expand the capacity of its wind farm in Kutch. And now, world’s number one wind power solutions provider Vestas is increasing its installed capacity here.
Vestas has a wind power generation capacity of 60 Mw in Gujarat. “We are planning to install another 250 Mw capacity in Kutch in the next one year or so. The company plans to enhance the wind power capacity in Gujarat to more than 300 Mw,” said a company official. Recently, Vestas also participated in the India Energy Conclave 2009 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in Ahmedabad.
The project would involve an investment of about Rs 1,750 crore. Vestas Wind Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government for setting up 1,000 Mw wind farm projects in the state for an investment of Rs 7,000 crore.
The Danish wind player has got the necessary government clearances for the expansion and is scouting for investors for its 250 Mw wind farm.
“Apart from Gujarat, Tamil Nadu is also on Vestas’ radar for a 100-Mw wind power project,” the official added. The company intends to put up 1,200 Mw of installed wind power capacity in India in the long run.
Gujarat is fast emerging as the hub for renewable energy. Recently, Chennai-based Winwind Power Energy and Parle announced their plans to set up wind farms in the state.
Winwind plans to develop a 100-Mw wind farm at Surajbari in Kutch for an Ahmedabad-based company. The company would infuse Rs 650 crore in the project. Parle Products, biscuits and confectionery manufacturer, would invest Rs 40 crore in its project.
Meanwhile, Suzlon Energy is all set to double the capacity of its wind farm at Jhakhau in Kutch to 1,500 Mw.
The state government expects to add 3,000 Mw of wind power in the next three years. The current installed capacity of wind power in the state is around 1,500 Mw. It may be mentioned that Gujarat has the potential to generate 10,645 Mw of wind power.
