Suzlon Group, one of world’s leading wind turbine manufacturers, announced the launch of its new S9X suite of wind turbines at the Wind Power 2011 conference in Chennai, India.
Mr. Tulsi R. Tanti, founder, Chairman and Managing Director – Suzlon Group said: “The wind energy industry is rapidly evolving; the center of gravity has shifted to emerging wind power markets which are re-shaping the sector. This shift is also dictating the direction of technology development as more moderate and low wind sites become available in these new markets. The S9X suite of wind turbines has been developed to take advantage of these emerging opportunities.
“We have a very tight focus on providing higher yields for our customers at a lower cost even from low wind sites. This suite of products is an important addition to our portfolio, expanding on our proven, reliable technology platform to deliver more efficient wind power solutions customized to our customers’ exact needs. We are confident the S9X suite extends our competitive edge in emerging high-growth wind farm markets like India, China and Brazil and other select matured markets.”
Speaking at the event, Mr. John O’Halloran, President – Technology – Suzlon Energy Limited, said: “Customer centricity is the hallmark of our new products. The S9X suite of wind turbines has been specifically designed keeping in mind the needs of the market. We have engaged closely with our customers in the development phase. We’ve incorporated their input at the design stage – delivering not only a better product, but also significantly improving project execution and servicing of the machines in the field.”
“Every aspect of the wind turbine – the blades, the generator and sub-systems – features improved designs to deliver a higher return on investment. The machines also have better grid compatibility and are in accordance with the highest safety standards. The end result is a range of products which are extremely reliable, delivering significant increase in energy yield at a low cost through its life cycle.”
The S9X suite is an evolution of Suzlon’s proven technology platform, and is built around a core doubly fed induction generator-based technology. A compact and modular DFIG design allows ease of serviceability and meets the latest grid requirements for smoother wind power plant connectivity. New blade designs with rotor diameter of 95 meter and 97 meter offers a larger swept area add to this with greater energy capture and power production from moderate to low wind speeds. To ensure the highest standards in quality, Suzlon’s blade testing far exceeds industry baseline by simulating total life cycle of blade (1 million cycles) in most extreme onsite conditions.
The wind turbines boast of variable tower heights of 90 or 100 meters, leading to low cost optimization and higher power generation. The S9X wind turbines also comply with low voltage regulation (LVRT) requirement, this leads to better compliance with grid regulation. Additionally, improved sub-systems like the new pitch and yaw systems have increased system reliability of the machines. Serial production of the S95 wind turbine is scheduled to begin in Q2 FY11 – 12, followed by the S97 in Q4 FY11- 12, backed by a robust order book.
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 concept-to-commissioning business model to wind power investors in India – providing a comprehensive suite of services from wind turbine supply, to EPC, wind farm 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 wind farm sites across eight states, and an installed base of more than 5,500 MW and a customer portfolio that captures the leaders of the Indian Industry.
Headquartered in Pune, India, Suzlon is one of the world’s leading wind turbine suppliers. 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.
