Adani New Industries installs wind turbine, taller than Statue of Unity

A wind turbine taller than the world's tallest Statue of Unity with blades spanning wider than the wingspan of a jumbo jet has been installed at Mundra in Gujarat by Adani New Industries Ltd as part of its renewable energy expansion plans.

"Adani New Industries Limited (ANIL) on Thursday announced the installation of country's largest Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) in Mundra, Gujarat," a company statement said.

The turbine has been installed by Mundra Windtech Ltd (MWL), a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated by Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL).

This prototype is also the first addition to the portfolio of Adani New Industries Ltd (ANIL) and has laid the foundation for installation of even bigger wind turbine generators, it stated.

Milind Kulkarni, Chief Operating Officer (COO), MWL, said, "The proto assembly was completed in a record of 19 days. It is installed, commissioned, and we shall soon go for a type certification now."

"This prototype has laid a foundation stone for us to go for another prototype which shall be even taller than the 140 m hub height. Going forward, we shall manufacture our own blades, while we have already started the assembly of Nacelle, and Hub in our own upcoming facility in Mundra," he added.

Standing 200 metres tall, the wind turbine has the capacity to produce 5.2 MW of electricity and can power approximately 4,000 homes.

It is taller than the world's tallest statue, the Statue of Unity (182 metres), it added.

At 78 metres, its blades are bigger than the wingspan of a jumbo jet, making it the longest in the country.

It is the biggest wind turbine in terms of power and has a rotor diameter of 160 metres. The hub height of the wind turbine generator is 120 metres, about the height of a 40-storey building.

Wind turbines have had a growth spurt over the last couple of years. Turbines of the capacity above 4 MW are typically associated with offshore installation -- where the machines have gone as big as 14 MW.

But an onshore turbine of 5.2 MW is a rarity and certainly not seen in India. This machine is a first and has been built with technology from W2E (Wind to Energy) of Germany, it added.

It will work at wind speeds as low as 3 metres per second (mps) and up to 20 mps, reaching its optimum power production at around 12 mps wind speeds.

Dennis Schultz, plant head of Blade Production Unit at MWL, said, "We have partnered with two European leaders in technology advancements -- WINDnovation for rotor blade designs and W2E. With research, design, and its manufacturing expertise, MWL has been successful in bringing the prototype wind turbine from concept to a tested and proven reality and has paved way for a clean and even green future."

Only a couple of years ago, the maximum capacity for a single wind turbine in India was 2-3 MW, it stated.