Tulsi Tanti, the founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Suzlon said: “Silas Zimu is a fantastic appointment for us. With 19 years in South Africa’s power sector he understands the business like nobody else in the country. Silas’ experience is second to none and he shares with us the vision for a greener tomorrow. This announcement today underscores our belief that South Africa has huge wind energy potential, along with our intention to play a major role in bringing that to fruition. We believe that wind power can help South Africa deliver the power the country needs, along with energy security required, and create thousands of green jobs.”
Silas Zimu, who comes to Suzlon from his previous role as Managing Director of major utility company City Power, said: “My vision is clear. I want to see this great country of ours embracing wind for all the right reasons: closing the energy gap between what we generate currently and what we need, offering green electricity, creating many green jobs and enabling sustainability in the social, environmental and ecological spheres.
“I believe that wind power has a very important place in South Africa’s energy portfolio, and I am delighted to now have a strong platform with Suzlon to make that a reality.
“I am thrilled to be joining the company I believe is the leader in wind farm generation, and I am confident Suzlon will play a major role in helping to revolutionize South Africa’s electricity sector.”
Silas Zimu, Managing Director of City Power (leading power utility) is serving notice until the end of October. He was appointed to that role in 2007 and previously held positions there in Planning and Technology, Customer Services and Operations. Silas Zimu previously worked for Eskom, the public electricity company, in a number of senior roles.
The South African Wind Energy Association believes that 25 per cent of the country’s energy could be delivered by wind power by 2025
Suzlon is currently in the tendering process for more than 800 MW – South Africa’s wind potentiality is estimated to be 184 TWh.
Suzlon, the leader in the Indian wind energy, has maintained market leadership by capturing ~50 per cent market share for 12 consecutive years. Suzlon offers the conceptto-commissioning business model to wind energy investors in India – providing a comprehensive suite of services from turbine supply, to EPC, lifetime operations and maintenance and other value added services covering the entire value chain.
The success of the model is seen in Suzlon’s rapid growth in India – with over 40 sites across eight states, and an installed base of more than 5,000 MW and a customer portfolio that captures the leaders of the Indian Industry.
Suzlon is ranked as the world’s third leading wind turbine supplier in terms of market share in 2009. Suzlon has its corporate office in Pune, India. 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.
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 9.8 per cent is derived from BTM Consult ApS World Market Update 2009, ranking Suzlon with 6.4 per cent of global market share and REpower with 3.4 per cent of global market share.
