Wind turbine manufacturer, Gamesa India, today announced its entry into the Indian market for building solar projects for energy companies with orders from three Tamil Nadu-based textile units, for 10 MW.
Gamesa India is a subsidiary of the Spanish wind major of the same name, and is the market leader in wind turbine sales in India. Gamesa India’s entry into the solar EPC space marks the Spanish group’s re-entry into solar — Gamesa used to build solar plants in Europe until a few years ago, when it exited the business.
Gamesa India is an expert in project execution and knows well the issues relating to land development and building projects, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director, Ramesh Kymal, said at a press conference here today.
Gamesa would undertake EPC jobs rather than develop solar assets and then sell them to investors, he said. He observed that there was a huge potential for wind-solar hybrid projects, a market which would develop if there was a policy for it. However, he said Gamesa, while being ready, is not necessarily aiming at that market.
Wind to be mainstay
Though Gamesa believes solar has huge potential, wind will be its mainstay in India. The company is one of the larger foreign investors in the Indian renewable energy industry, having invested over Rs 700 crore in the last five years. Some 1,850 MW of Gamesa wind turbines stand on Indian soil today, generating electricity.
Kymal said the company would invest about Rs 800 crore more over the next 4-5 years, mainly to enhance its capability to produce bigger machines and longer blades. The company is also readying itself to introducing hybrid towers, where the lower portion of the tower would be made of concrete, while the upper would be of steel tubes.