Renewable energy company Greenko Group has commissioned a 50-MW wind farm at Balavenkatapuram in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, taking its installed generating portfolio to 476 MW.

This reflects an increase of 54 per cent in generation capacity since April 2014.

The Hyderabad-based company, listed on the AIM of London Stock Exchange, is steadily building its portfolio of renewable energy assets, both setting them on its own and also making a series of acquisitions in the hydel generation sector.

The Balavenkatapuram Phase-2 is the fifth wind farm Greenko has commissioned this financial year and brings the total wind generation capacity of the company to 233 MW. The Phase 2 wind farm was completed ahead of schedule and is expected to ram up to full power curve within weeks.

Anil Chalamalasetty, Chief Executive Officer of Greenko, said, “The company’s strategy of building large wind farms in a phased manner, using the latest low speed turbine technology connected to the high voltage transmission grid, is expected to deliver predictable and profitable growth.”

“We expect to more than double our generation capacity this financial year to 600 MW and are firmly on track to meet our 2015 target of 1,000 MW,” he said.

This project was built with an outlay of €43 million using Gamesa’s G97 turbines. This has capacity to deliver better performance in an average year.

This project has a 25-year power purchase agreement with Andhra Pradesh and has access to generation-based incentives.

The Grid connection for the site’s full capacity of 200 MW was completed in October 2013, ahead of Phase 1 commissioning.

The Phase 3 of Balavenkatapuram of another 50 MW is under construction and is expected to be ready for operation before the monsoon season in July.

rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in