GE Energy to localise products for India's wind energy sector

Bangalore: The US-based GE Energy is focusing on localising products for the Indian wind energy sector.

The company will be launching products of larger capacities to capture low wind speeds as prevalent in India, Mr Banmali Agrawala, President & CEO, GE Energy, told Business Line. “The products will be coming out in a year's time and have been developed here,” he said. Also, the company is seeing interest in these localised products from other emerging markets as well, Mr Agrawala added. GE at present makes wind turbines of 1.5 MW and 1.6 MW capacities.

Going forward, apart from manufacturing products, GE Energy would be open to providing support to customers in the development phase of the project. “ o take our products to customers if it needed to extend and provide additional services, we will do so,” Mr Agrawala said. Support would be in things like financial structuring or helping with development model and also installation, transportation or commissioning of projects.

However, the company, unlike many others in the business like Suzlon or Gamesa, will not provide “packaged services” of providing land along with wind assets. “It does create uncertainties for the business, but we recommend to customers that the land should be acquired by them,” Mr Agrawala said. (Typically, developers find it easier to sell packaged wind assets rather than individual equipment without land for the projects.)

According to Mr Agrawala, renewable energy especially wind is a “critical part of our business and therefore we are increasingly localising products for the Indian market.” In the renewable energy sector, the company currently manufacturers equipment for power projects, like wind turbines, inverters and switch gears.

The products are manufactured at its plant in Pune and the company is in the process of expanding its facility there. While the products will be made for the Indian market but will also use it as a base for exports, Mr Agrawala said.