General Electric Renewable Energy has been selected by ReNew Power to provide 120 GE 2.5-132 turbines for the Gadhsisa Wind Farm in Gujarat. The farm will be commissioned in stages and will be completed by the end of 2019.
ReNew Power is India’s largest renewable energy Independent Power Producer (IIP). It won the bid for Gadhsisa in the third round of auctions conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in February 2018.
GE plans to make the turbines at its Pune factory, which is designed at the company’s technology centre in Bangalore and will maintain the plant for 10 years.
GE Renewable Energy onshore wind Asia region leader Mahesh Palashikar said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with ReNew Power on this project. This is an important milestone for GE in India and this relationship with ReNew will help us expand our turnkey capabilities across Asia. ReNew Power is the industry leader in the renewable energy sector in India, and it is a privilege for our turbines to have been selected for this project.”
GE’s 2.5 MW wind turbine was specially designed in India for the country’s low wind speed conditions, lowering the cost of wind energy compared to similar turbines.
According to a statement by GE, “this turbine is a significant improvement over previous versions, with improved rotor diameter, wind capture and 30 percent more Annual Energy Production (AEP) than GE’s 2.3-116 turbine.”
“We’re excited to bring this wind turbine, as well as other new turbines such as the 2.7, to the India region,” Palashikar added.
GE has supplied 1.8GW of capacity across the country.
ReNew Power president Balram Mehta said: “GE Renewable Energy, with its customized maintenance support and suite of modern turbines driven by cutting-edge technology, was a natural choice as our partner for this critical project.
“By leveraging our combined strengths and synergies, we hope to make a significant contribution towards augmenting renewables capacity in India.”
The wind farm will be the largest full turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) project by GE Renewable Energy in India. The company said the project will power the equivalent of 11 lakh homes with clean and reliable electricity.