Gamesa, a global technology leader in wind energy, has made further progress on its growth strategy in India by opening its new blades factory in the country to produce these components for turbine systems G5X-850 kW and G9X-2.0 MW.
The new blade plant - located in the city of Vadodara, in south-western Gujarat state - is currently staffed by 157 employees and is forecast to reach production capacity of 390 blades in 2013.
Gamesa invested 25 million euros to commission the facility, which has already produced its first blade for the G5X-850 kW turbine. The blade factory will primarily supply India's northern states, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, which offer promising wind energy potential.
"This marks another step towards cementing our manufacturing base in India, where we are also implementing our best technology and practices in wind turbine production," said Gamesa India Chairman and Managing Director Ramesh Kymal.
Gamesa recently boosted its manufacturing presence in India with a tower factory built through the Windar Renewable Energy joint venture, in which Gamesa owns a 32-percent stake. The facility will employ 50 workers by the end of the first quarter of 2012.
The newly operating plant is part of a 60-million-euro investment Gamesa announced in March 2011 to strengthen the company's manufacturing base in India in order to tap rising demand in the country's wind energy market.
Gamesa will round off this investment plan in India by building a new factory in Tamil Nadu state to produce nacelles.
Indianow accounts for 20% of the MW Gamesa sells
Gamesa has had a manufacturing presence in the Indian wind energy market since early 2010, when its first Indian factory began operating -- a nacelle assembly facility currently equipped for capacity of 500 MW.
As part of its strategy to underpin its expansion in India with a manufacturing and technological base, Gamesa in 2011 inaugurated its first technology centre in the suburb of Sholinganallur outside Chennai.
In the third quarter of 2011, India accounted for 20% of the MW sold by Gamesa worldwide, after the company's sales in the country increased by 2.8 times from the same period a year earlier. Gamesa ventured into India only two years ago and has already garnered a 10-percent share of the market, according to the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association, making it the country's No. 3 wind energy manufacturing company.
Gamesa also operates as a wind farm developer in India, where it has a portfolio of wind farms exceeding 2,100 MW of combined capacity at varying stages of development.