One of India’s leading wind energy solutions providers, Suzlon Energy, has claimed that it had the highest market share in India in the financial year 2018-19.
In a press release, Suzlon Energy announced that with 39% market share in 2018-19 it was the leading wind energy solutions provider in India. The company said that this is the fourth consecutive financial year when it has gained market share over rivals that include the likes of Siemens Gamesa, GE, and Inox Wind, among others.
India commissioned 1.5 gigawatts of wind energy capacity, as reported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Suzlon claims that it managed to commission around 585 megawatts of this. The company further claimed that it was the first to commission a 250-megawatt project auctioned by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
Suzlon stated that it currently has an order book of 1.32 gigawatts, which includes several orders resulting from the state and central-level wind energy auctions. The company secured a total capacity of 1.74 gigawatts from various auctions and has fully commissioned a 250 megawatt project for Sembcorp under India’s first-ever wind energy auction held in February 2017.
In its investors’ presentation, the company mentioned an optimistic note stating that orders for around 6 gigawatts of the 13.8-gigawatt auctioned capacity is yet to be awarded to turbine manufacturers. To date, India has auctioned 12.3 gigawatts of wind energy capacity and 1.56 gigawatts of solar-wind hybrid capacity.
Suzlon’s financial performance has been a major concern to investors for a number of years now. We have covered extensively the massive decline in market capitalization of the company’s shares at the Indian bourses. The company has set a target to reduce its debt by 30-40% without giving a clear timeline to do so. It hopes to piggyback the expected boom in wind energy auctions, and the resulting capacity addition in the Indian market.
India’s wind energy capacity at the end of April 2019 stood at 35.8 gigawatts with a target to achieve operational capacity of 60 gigawatts by the end of March 2022. Suzlon estimates that central and state governments will issue tenders for 14-16 gigawatts of capacity by end of March 2021, giving it ample opportunities to increase its market share further.
India has also set very ambitious targets for annual capacity to be auctioned beyond 2022. To achieve an installed wind energy capacity of 140 gigawatts by 2030, the country will auction 10 gigawatts of capacity every year after 2022, which represents a huge market opportunity for Suzlon Energy (and its competitors).