Ghodawat to spend Rs 400 cr for wind power

The flagship company of the Sanjay Ghodawat group plans to do the same in the next two years.

Recently, Ghodawat Industries had announced its foray into wind turbine manufacturing with exclusive technology licensing from US-based wind energy major American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC).

In the initial phase, slated to take off next year, the firm plans an investment of Rs 100 crore to manufacture 1.65 mw wind turbines.

"In the next phase, we will make 100 mw wind turbines with an annual production of about 60 units initially," said MD Shrenik Ghodawat.

According to estimates of the ministry of non-conventional energy, 5,000 mw of wind power capacity is likely to be installed in India by 2012. This will be an addition to the existing capacity of 4,000 mw. Corporates such as Tata Power, NTPC and Steel Authority of India have announced plans of setting up 50 to 100 mw wind power projects in the country.

"We aim to garner revenues of Rs 500 crore from wind energy by 2010," Ghodawat said. The company also plans to tap markets in West Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Ghodawat has been involved in wind turbine tower manufacturing and supplies major players like Suzlon, Vestas and Enercon. Currently, it has a turnover of about Rs 60 crore in the wind tower business; this constitutes just five per cent of the group's turnover.