Suzlon plans integrated wind-solar-storage business: Vice-Chairman

Suzlon plans to evolve into a wind-solar-storage solutions provider, targeting integrated renewable projects, asset management growth and global expansion

Suzlon Energy Vice-Chairman Girish Tanti lays out the growth path for Suzlon 2.0, unveiled on Wednesday, in conversation with Krishna Kant. Edited excerpts:

Renewable energy has gone through boom-and-bust cycles in the past. How sustainable is the current growth trajectory?

The current cycle is fundamentally different. The world is entering what I would call the age of electricity. Demand for electricity is rising across sectors and geographies, and countries are increasingly concerned about energy security. Economic growth is now directly linked to reliable power availability.

 

Renewable energy is uniquely positioned to address this challenge. Wind and solar are the fastest technologies to deploy at scale. They are modular, allowing capacity to be added in line with demand growth, unlike thermal or nuclear projects that require large upfront investments and long gestation periods. They are also distributed technologies, enabling generation closer to consumption centres.

 

Most importantly, the cost of wind and solar power has declined significantly and is now competitive with conventional sources. These structural changes have created a durable demand pull for renewable energy.

 

At the policy level, India's net-zero target for 2070 provides unprecedented visibility. Earlier, we could plan only two to three years ahead; today we can plan capacity additions over a much longer horizon. This gives the industry far greater stability.

Suzlon recently announced Suzlon 2.0. What does this transformation involve?

Suzlon has historically operated in only about 20 per cent of the renewable energy market, namely wind power. With Suzlon 2.0, we are expanding into integrated renewable energy solutions through our ReDevCo platform.

 

Customers today are not looking for just wind turbines or solar panels; they want reliable renewable power. Through ReDevCo, we will offer integrated solutions combining wind, solar and battery storage under one roof. We will design, develop and integrate the entire project, enabling customers to access a complete renewable energy ecosystem through a single partner.

Suzlon is a leading wind turbine manufacturer. What role do you see for the company in solar energy?

We do not intend to become a solar equipment manufacturer. There is already significant excess manufacturing capacity globally, particularly in China, and we do not see value in entering that race.

 

Our role will be that of an integrator. The key challenge is designing the right renewable energy solution by optimally combining wind, solar and storage. We will work with solar technology partners and focus on project design, energy management and system integration rather than manufacturing modules or cells.

 

Customers increasingly want projects delivered on time, within budget and with predictable returns. While capital is available for renewable energy, many developers struggle to execute projects efficiently on the ground. Solving that problem is a major objective of our development platform.

How will the ReDevCo model work in practice?

Traditionally, developers first secure a power purchase agreement (PPA), then identify land, obtain approvals and finally begin project execution. This process often leads to delays.

 

We want to reverse that sequence. Suzlon will develop well-curated renewable energy sites by securing land, permits and other pre-construction requirements before approaching developers. Once the project is substantially ready, we will secure PPAs and offer these de-risked opportunities to investors and developers.

 

To support this model, we are allocating around ₹500 crore as seed capital. We currently have nearly 8 Gw of wind projects at various stages of development and are evaluating their potential for hybrid wind-solar deployment.

 

This approach enables faster execution and better project readiness. Over the next three years, we aim to increase annual wind power additions from around 8 Gw to 15 Gw.

Renewable energy is often criticised for its inability to provide round-the-clock power. How can that challenge be addressed?

Intermittency is a challenge, but it can be substantially mitigated through hybridisation and storage.

 

Solar plants typically operate at about 27 per cent availability, while good wind sites can achieve 40-45 per cent. When wind and solar are combined, availability can increase to around 55-60 per cent.

 

Adding battery storage further improves reliability. While a fully renewable, 100 per cent green power system is technically possible, but remains expensive with current battery economics. However, achieving 80-85 per cent availability through a combination of wind, solar and storage is already economically feasible. As battery costs continue to decline, that percentage will increase further.

Services have become an important part of Suzlon's business. How does this fit into your growth strategy?

Services are the third pillar of our growth strategy. In FY26, around Rs 2,000 crore of our revenue came from operations and maintenance services.

 

Today we manage nearly 18 Gw of wind assets globally across about 100 clusters in nine Indian states. Many of these customers also own solar assets and increasingly want a single partner to manage their entire renewable energy portfolio.

 

As a result, we are expanding from Operations Management Services (OMS) to Asset Management Services (AMS), offering integrated management of wind, solar and storage assets. Our goal is to increase assets under management from 18 GW today to about 70 Gw by FY31.

 

This is also an attractive business financially, with Ebitda margins significantly higher than equipment sales.

 

How significant can solar become within Suzlon's business portfolio?

 

While Suzlon is currently a pure-play wind company, we expect solar assets to account for approximately 20 per cent of our overall managed renewable energy portfolio by FY31 as we scale our integrated solutions business.

Is Suzlon looking beyond India once again?

Yes. We are re-entering select international markets, including Europe and Australia. Recently, we launched our new Blue Sky platform, a 5-6 Mw wind turbine, in Madrid. The response from potential customers has been encouraging.

 

We are targeting approximately 3 Gw of international order intake over the coming years. Our objective is to leverage Suzlon's technology, execution capabilities and integrated renewable energy expertise in carefully selected global markets.