Lloyd sets up wind turbine tower facility in Gujarat for Rs 200 cr
NDTV Profit spoke with Divestment Secretary Mohammed Haleem Khan about issues related to GAAR and divestment target and how he sees the divestment roadmap for fiscal year 2012-13.
Cooling products maker Fedders Lloyd Corporation (FLC) announced its foray into wind turbine component sector by setting up a tower manufacturing facility in Bharuch district of Gujarat.
The B R Punj-promoted FLC has set up a wind turbine tower manufacturing facility, having annual production capacity of up to 250 towers, at Jambusar in Bharuch district of Gujarat with an investment of Rs 200 crore.
"We shall roll out the first wind turbine tower from our Jambusar facility by this month end. In the first phase, we shall be producing 150 towers annually for wind turbines up to 3 MW from here," Nemichandra D Jain, Head, Wind Energy, FLC told PTI.
According to industry, the Government of India (GoI) has set up an ambitious target of having 20,000 MW of installed wind generation capacity under the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), against the current installed capacity of 13,000 MW across the country.
The production of wind turbine components is projected to triple over the next few years as India aims to have an installed capacity of 4,000 MW annually over the next five years to achieve the 12th Plan target of 20,000 MW, industry sources said.
Considering the organised players into wind turbine component manufacturing in India and the projected demand, there would still be shortage of 1,200 towers annually, according to FLC.
The company is negotiating with a leading wind farm developer in US to jointly develop sites in India and South Africa and expects to seal a deal by June this year.
"We have held the first round of negotiations with the US-based leading wind turbine player and expect to seal the deal by June this year. The joint venture with them shall give a push to our manufacturing facility too," Jain said. India is projected to have sites for generation of 40,000 MW of wind power, he said.
However, he did not divulge the name of the US-based company.
"Tamil Nadu which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the country's total wind power installed capacity has almost saturated, we expect states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh to fuel next wave of growth in the sector," he added.
It makes sense to set up a plant in Gujarat, as logistics would be cheaper due to the site's proximity with Dahej port, besides it being close to potential states having wind turbine sites in the country, Jain said.
The company has acquired 38 acres of land to set up state-of-the-art heavy fabrication and heavy machine facility, with a view to diversify into manufacturing of parts for nuclear, thermal or gas fired power plants.
"We have held the first round of negotiations with the US-based leading wind turbine player and expect to seal the deal by June this year. The joint venture with them shall give a push to our manufacturing facility too," Jain said.
India is projected to have sites for generation of 40,000 MW of wind power, he said.
However, he did not divulge the name of the US based company.
"Tamil Nadu which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the country's total wind power installed capacity has almost saturated, we expect states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh to fuel next wave of growth in the sector," he added.
It makes sense to set up a plant in Gujarat, as logistics would be cheaper due to the site's proximity with Dahej port, besides it being close to potential states having wind turbine sites in the country, Jain said.
The company has acquired 38 acres of land to set up state-of-the-art heavy fabrication and heavy machine facility, with a view to diversify into manufacturing of parts for nuclear, thermal or gas fired power plants.