Indian wind power champion Suzlon can make a comeback on the world stage to become “one of the top manufacturers globally” as soon as three years from now, according to its CEO.
JP Chalasani claimed the wind OEM has turned a corner after a years-long slump thanks to elimination of debt, growing orders for its 3MW turbine and booming demand for renewables in its domestic Indian market.
The Suzlon chief reckons Suzlon can not only compete with global giants such as Siemens Gamesa. GE and Envision in India, but even regain the global momentum it last enjoyed in the early 2010s.
“Can we look at international in three to four years? So effectively being number one in India and then one of the top manufacturers globally is what I look at in the next three to five years,” Chalasani told India’s Economic Times, stressing the opportunities for integrating wind, solar and storage.
Suzlon has in the last few weeks notched up a string of orders for its 3MW model, including 225MW from Everrenew Energy and 300MW from Apraava Energy.
Chalasani, who is in his second spell as CEO, told the Economic Times: "We do have a significant manufacturing capacity. We can manufacture 3-4 GW a year. Our ability to deliver larger volumes is significant now. We closed the last quarter with an order book of 1. 6GW and subsequently, we have announced several orders."
That is in stark contrast to the low points of 2019 and 2020 when production at times dwindled to almost zero, with Suzlon crippled operationally by a $1.5bn debt pile. Suzlon had as recently as 2018 been India's number-one turbine supplier with a 41% market share, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance data.
The Indian group was at its lowest point even heavily tipped as a takeover target for Vestas.
An international comeback of the scale referred to would be a remarkable turnaround for Suzlon, which at the height of its powers owned the German turbine group Senvion and was a major supplier to projects in multiple markets.
