Suzlon to complete Kutch wind farm in next four years, says CMD Tanti

During the event, the chief minister of Gujarat Anandi Patel inaugurated a 120 meter long hybrid tower which has been developed by Suzlon for sites having low wind speeds. Being the first such tower at Nani Ber in Kutch district of the state, the structure has been christened as the world’s tallest “lattice-tubular” hybrid tower.

“The winds speeds are better as you go higher. This tower can generate between 12-15 per cent more power than the conventional towers, at 5-6 percent extra cost,” said Tusli Tanti, CMD of Suzlon Group.

According to the company officials it was logistically not possible for the company to build wind turbines beyond 85-90 meters. “It is difficult to transport towers that are more than five meters in diameter,” he added.

“There are a lot of sites where we cannot set up viable projects even with towers with 90 meters. This hybrid tower will help us set up projects even at sites with low wind speeds,” Tanti added.

The Kutch wind farm was planned as 2000 MW farm by Suzlon which includes a cluster of windmills at Amaliyara, Sinoi, Shikarpur, Lathedi, Changdi, Bhada, Nanisindhodi, Jakhau, Vanku, Jamanwada, Suthari and Kadodi villages of Kutch. The first turbine of 120 KW was commissioned at Lathedi way back in December 2005.

According to Suzlon officials, the company has mobilised inflow of Rs 1500 crore of investments from outside of the state in the form of wind power installations.

Tanti also claimed that each MW of wind power setup in Kutch has created about 20 direct and indirect jobs.

Gujarat has a wind power potential of 35000 MW. Currently, the state has 3454 MW of installed wind power generation capacity of which the share of Suzlon stands at 1709 MW.