‘We Are Working with Hard-to-Abate Industries to Go Green’: Suzlon’s Girish Tanti

• Suzlon is partnering with steel and other hard-to-abate industries to support their transition to cleaner energy and lower emissions

• The company says decarbonisation could help Indian exporters remain competitive as the EU and UK roll out carbon border adjustment mechanisms

• Suzlon has launched the S175 (5 MW), which it describes as India’s most powerful wind turbine, as part of its broader ‘Suzlon 2.0’ transformation strategy

Suzlon is working with hard-to-abate and carbon-intensive industries to help them reduce their emissions, a shift that could strengthen the competitiveness of Indian exporters as carbon-related trade measures gain prominence in key overseas markets, according to Girish Tanti, Executive Vice Chairman of Suzlon Group.

The comments come as the European Union has begun implementing its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which places a carbon cost on imports of emissions-intensive products such as steel, aluminium and cement. The United Kingdom is also set to introduce a similar mechanism from 2027. Industry executives say lower-carbon manufacturing could help exporters remain competitive as such regulations take effect.

“Today, we are working with so many steel companies to go into green steel,” Tanti told Outlook Business. “We are doing large projects for the Tatas, Jindals, Vedanta, and even Mittals.”

Suzlon on Monday announced in Goa the launch of the S175 (5 MW), which it described as India’s most powerful wind turbine. The turbine features a 175-metre rotor, a 160-metre hybrid lattice tower and a blade-tip height of 247.5 metres.

“Our current flagship product, the S144, has already been rated as the world’s least carbon-intensive turbine,” said Tanti. “Going forward, we will have an advantage as a company, and all our customers will benefit in their export business.”

This assumes significance as hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, steel, aluminium and refineries account for nearly 34% of India’s carbon footprint. Experts argue that without decarbonising these industries, India will struggle to achieve its target of net-zero emissions by 2070 and meet its broader greenhouse gas reduction commitments.

Lauding the launch of the S175 product, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said the “turbine will go a long way in ensuring that we meet our wind energy ambitions, both domestically and globally.”

Earlier, Suzlon announced plans to transform itself from a pure-play wind turbine original equipment manufacturer into a wind-first, full-stack renewable energy solutions company. Under its ‘Suzlon 2.0’ strategy, the company is building a new business architecture spanning renewable energy technology solutions, a renewable energy development company, project execution, and asset management services.

At present, Suzlon has an installed wind energy capacity of 21.5 GW, including 15.5 GW in India and 6 GW across 17 countries worldwide.