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Suzlon Energy has secured a significant order of 1,166 MW from NTPC Green, marking a milestone for the company. Jayaram Prasad Chalasani, CEO of Suzlon, described the contract as a "role model contract" due to the smooth execution process, with land availability, a ready-to-sign power purchase agreement (PPA), and balance of plant (BoP) contracts already awarded to other companies. This will ensure no delays in project execution, he told businessline after the order announcement.
This win is crucial for Suzlon, as it adds public sector undertakings (PSUs) to its customer base, alongside utilities (discoms), commercial and industrial customers (C&I), and smaller retail clients like textile mills. Suzlon had previously been ineligible for PSU tenders due to certain financial criteria, such as net worth.
Chalasani emphasized that the order represents a significant partnership between India’s largest power utility and the countrys leading wind turbine manufacturer. While future contracts will be awarded through a bidding process, he views this as the start of a long-term relationship with NTPC. NTPC Green has also issued a new tender for 6 GW, part of its larger goal to achieve 60 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2032.
To meet India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, Chalasani stressed the need for advance planning, including securing land and infrastructure and finalizing BoP contracts. Delays in PPAs and BoP slippage have often caused project delays in the industry.
The order involves three separate contracts: supply and transportation, civil foundation and commissioning, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for ten years. While Suzlon has not disclosed the value of the order, the market price for wind turbines is around ?6 crore per MW, excluding commissioning and O&M services.
Suzlon’s O&M contract for the NTPC order will begin immediately, unlike other contracts where it starts after the warranty period. O&M is a high-margin business, and Suzlon is in the process of merging its O&M arm, Suzlon Global, with itself. It also acquired a 51% stake in Renom, an independent O&M company, with plans to increase its stake. Suzlon Global will handle Suzlon’s turbines, while Renom will focus on non-Suzlon machines.
With this order, Suzlon’s order book now stands at nearly 5 GW, keeping its factories busy through this year and the next. The NTPC Green order is expected to be commissioned within 16-18 months, requiring machine deliveries over the next 12 months. |
