Essar forays into wind power, signs pact with REpower AG, Germany

Mumbai, Sept 15 (UNI) Essar Global's Power business today signed a Licensing Agreement with REpower Systems AG for the design and manufacture of 1.5 MW and 2 MW Wind Turbines in India and marketing in South East Asia.

Accordingly, the two entities have agreed to set up a joint venture in the near future which will allow access to 3MW and 5 MW turbines as well other future developments and wider market reach.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr Anshuman Ruia, Director, Essar Power said,''This is the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship and the agreement comes at a time when there is a huge demand for power in India and it also fits in perfectly with our strategy of diversifying into renewable energy sources.'' This wind turbine technology is widely accepted for usage in Europe for the generation of power. REpower's 1.5 megawatt turbine installations in Germany operate with an average availability of approximatley 99 per cent, said an Essar press release adding that this technology is ideally suited for Indian wind conditions.

Essar proposes to set up the manufacturing plant in a port based location which the Group hopes to finalize soon. The initial investment required to set up the plant is in the region of Rs 50 crore and this will be financed through internal resources. It expects to start commercial production by the middle of next year.

India with about 5300 megawatts of installed wind power capacity (as on March 2006) will see additional capacity of 1700 MW -1800MW in the current financial year. The domestic market for wind energy is the largest in Asia and the fourth largest on a global scale and the country has wind resources to harvest around 45000 MW of power.

UNI SN PM VKG1927