Two million new jobs to be offered in wind energy sector by 2022: Suzlon Chairman Tulsi Tanti
India currently has 70 Gw of installed renewable energy generation capacity, including 22 Gw of solar and 34 Gw of wind capacity
New Delhi: India’s wind energy sector will offer two million new jobs by 2022 as the country looks to double its overall manufacturing capacity in the wind space in the next four years, said Tulsi Tanti, chairman and managing director of Suzlon Group.
“We want to double the overall manufacturing capacity in the wind space. Today, we have two million jobs in the wind sector, which will become four million by 2022. It is an opportunity to make India the global manufacturing hub in the wind sector,” Tanti said at an event marking the Global Wind Day here.
Tanti’s Suzlon has 35 per cent share in India’s installed wind capacity. The Rs 8,200 crore company has so far supplied 8,503 turbines with a cumulative capacity of 11,919 megawatt (Mw) in the Indian market. Pune-based Suzlon delivered 1,100 Mw of equipment — including 231 Mw of solar — in FY18 and expected its revenues to jump 56 per cent to Rs 13,000 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2019.
Tanti, who is also the chairman of the local industry body Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association, said high margins in exports coupled with an increase in domestic demand would help double the country’s manufacturing capacity from the current 12 gigawatt (Gw) to 25 Gw by 2022.
“Today, in the wind space, 80 per cent production is happening in India. We have 12,000 Mw capacity with 4,000 vendors. We are also exporting good amount of components in the wind space to other countries. Top five manufacturers in the wind space are already there in India and have started their manufacturing capacities. India is a very cost-competitive market for them and they are already exporting from here,” he said.
The country’s total installed power generation capacity would have to grow to 850 Gw if the GDP grows at a rate of 6 per cent, according to Tanti. “And if we grow at 8 per cent then around 1,000 Gw will be required. So, both conventional and renewable energy sources will have to go hand-in-hand.”
He praised India’s growth in the wind energy sector and said that projects of 7 Gw installed capacity have already been bid out, while those of 11 Gw are in the pipeline for FY19. “In the next financial year, minimum 1 Gw installation will happen every month, so as to have the 12 Gw visibility. Based on that, for the next five years, we will have 50 to 60 Gw of wind capacity,” he said.
India currently has 70 Gw of installed renewable energy generation capacity, including 22 Gw of solar and 34 Gw of wind capacity.
Tanti said key drivers for the growth of the renewable energy sector in India include stable financial cost, benefits of latest technology, economy of scale, long-term PPAs and high interest from international investors. The investors’ expectation on cost of funding for green energy projects has come down to 10-12 per cent from the earlier 16-18 per cent, he added.
Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes
