Suzlon Completes Silver Sage Windpower

The Silver Sage Wind Farm began operating in early October, more than two months ahead of the targeted completion date. In total, Duke Energy has more than 130 megawatts (MW) of installed Suzlon S88 wind turbines located in Wyoming and West Texas.

"We believe Suzlon works harder than anyone in the industry to put the customer first – from our sales team all the way through to the construction and service teams, and warranty program," said Andris Cukurs, CEO of Suzlon Wind Energy Co. "Getting projects online sooner means we give them an earlier start on their return on investment and add green electrons that much sooner to the grid. We appreciate the fine partnership with Duke to make it all come together."

At full capacity, the 20 Suzlon wind turbines are capable of producing 42 MW of wind-generated electricity, which is enough energy to power nearly 20,000 average US homes.* Cheyenne Light Fuel & Power, a utility subsidiary of Black Hills Corp., and Colorado-based Platte River Power Authority are buying the renewable energy generated by Duke Energy at its Silver Sage Project.

In addition to supplying and building the turbines, Suzlon is providing operations and maintenance at Silver Sage through a five-year service agreement with Duke Energy. Suzlon also supplied the 14 S88 turbines in use at Duke Energy’s nearby Happy Jack Windpower Project, a 29-MW wind farm that entered commercial operation in September 2008.

Suzlon has more than 1,600 megawatts of wind turbine capacity installed in the U.S. and a total of 130 megawatts through three projects with Duke Energy.

Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation focuses on the North American market and is a subsidiary of Suzlon Energy Limited, India. The headquarters for North America is based in Chicago, Illinois. Sales and service offices are located throughout the U.S.

Suzlon ranked as the world’s third leading wind turbine supplier in terms of market share in 2008. Suzlon has ranked as the leading manufacturer in the Indian market for ten consecutive years, maintaining over 50% market share. Suzlon has its corporate offices in Pune, India and the company’s global spread reflects in its projects and markets portfolio – extending across Asia, Australia, Europe and North and South America. Suzlon is a highly vertically integrated wind turbine manufacturer with manufacturing capability along the full value chain – from components to complete wind turbine systems. 

A 10-kW wind turbine can generate about 10,000 kWh annually at a site with wind speeds averaging 12 miles per hour. The average U.S. household consumes about 10,000 kWh of electricity each year. A 5-MW turbine can produce more than 15 million kWh in a year–enough to power more than 1, 400 households. 

Suzlon and REpower, if taken together, stand as the world’s third leading wind turbine supplier group in terms of market share. Market share of 12.3% is derived from BTM Consult ApS World Market Update 2008, ranking Suzlon with 9% of global market share and REpower with 3.3% of global market share.

www.suzlon.com/