In August of 2010, Inox placed an initial order for 17 of AMSC’s wind turbine electrical control systems, which, as the "brains" of the wind turbine, monitor and control its operation and the flow of zero-emission electricity to the power grid. The systems are being utilized in 2 megawatt (MW) doubly-fed induction wind turbines that Inox is manufacturing under a global AMSC Windtec(TM) license.
"India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world," said Devansh Jain, Director of Inox Wind Limited. "When considering our rapid urbanization and industrialization combined with our need to reduce pollution and increase electricity generation, it is imperative that we continue to promote and produce zero-emission electricity from sources such as wind power. Our partnership with AMSC has enabled us to enter full-scale manufacturing quite rapidly, taking us one step closer to our goal of becoming a leader in the global wind power marketplace."
Inox Wind Limited (IWL) currently has the ability to manufacture 400 of its 2 MW wind turbines annually at its facility in Una (Himachal Pradesh) India. Today, approximately one-third of India’s 1.1 billion people do not have access to electricity. Demand for electric power in India from wind and other energy sources is expected to continue to grow strongly for decades to come.
"India is expected to be a major market for clean technology solutions, and Inox Wind is well positioned to be a leader in this sector," said AMSC founder and Chief Executive Officer Greg Yurek. "Inox has rapidly established a wind turbine manufacturing capacity of 800 MW per year and, with this new $9 million order, Inox is becoming one of our key wind turbine manufacturing customers."
India had 11,800 MW of wind power installed at the end of March 2010 according to the Indian Wind Energy Association, making it the world’s fifth largest wind power market. IHS Emerging Energy Research expects that India will more than double its installed capacity to nearly 24,000 MW by the end of 2015 and will triple its installed base to more than 34,000 MW by the end of 2020. According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the global wind power installed base is expected to more than double from 158,505 MW in 2009 to more than 347,000 MW by the end of 2013.
AMSC’s wind turbine power electronics and control systems include the company’s proprietary PowerModule(TM) power converters, pitch and yaw converters, SCADA systems and integrated control systems. They enable reliable, high-performance wind turbine operation by controlling power flows, regulating voltage, monitoring system performance, controlling the pitch of wind turbine blades and the yaw of the turbines to maximize efficiency.
Inox Wind Limited is part of the Inox Group of Companies. Inox Group is a $2 billion, professionally managed business group, with interests in diverse businesses including Industrial Gases, Refrigerants, Chemicals, Carbon Credits, Cryogenic Engineering, Renewable Energy and Entertainment. The INOX Group employs more than 5,000 people at more than 100 business units across the country, and has a distribution network that is spread across more than 50 countries around the globe. Each INOX Group company is characterized by three distinct characteristics – early identification of a winning business idea, building it to a size of dominant market leadership in that segment, and attaining a profit leadership position through cutting-edge efficiency in operations. The Inox Group of Companies, apart from Inox Wind Limited, includes amongst others, Inox Air Products Limited, Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited, Inox India Limited and Inox Leisure Limited.
AMSC offers an array of proprietary technologies and solutions spanning the electric power infrastructure — from generation to delivery to end use. The company is a leader in renewable energy, providing proven, megawatt-scale wind turbine designs and electrical control systems. The company also offers a host of Smart Grid technologies for power grid operators that enhance the reliability, efficiency and capacity of the grid, and seamlessly integrate renewable energy sources into the power infrastructure. These include superconductor power cable systems, grid-level surge protectors and power electronics-based voltage stabilization systems. AMSC’s technologies are protected by a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio consisting of hundreds of patents and licenses worldwide.
