Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)

Siemens AG (Munich, Germany) is looking to strengthen its presence in India's energy sector with a proposed investment of more than $346 million in the country's renewable energy market over the next couple of years. The investments primarily will be directed at technology enhancements in the wind-energy segment, as well as creating a base for the company's "value priced products" (VPP) in the country.

Siemens' roadmap for clean energy ventures in India includes the development of a wind turbine production facility with an initial capacity of 200 MW. About $110 million of the total amount will be spent on manufacturing wind turbines specific to the Indian market. The first batch of turbines is likely to be ready in 2012. The unit will expand to 500 MW over the next three years. The states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have been shortlisted for the venture, and the final location is yet to be decided. The company also plans to eventually foray into the solar energy segment.

In a bid to establish a VPP center in India, Siemens intends to set up six design and engineering hubs, which will be responsible for end-to-end product development and marketing of a range of VPPs comprising wind-power equipment, steam turbines with individual capacities to generate more than 45 MW of power, ring main units, low-end signaling systems, health-care equipment such as low-cost X-ray machines, and equipment specific to iron and steel-making. In addition to serving as "Competence Centers," these hubs also will be involved in the execution of turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contracts in the power sector.

Siemens is one of the largest clean energy technology providers in the world, deriving a third of its revenue, about $31.56 billion of $105.26 billion, from green ventures as of September 2009. However, the company is yet to make a mark in the wind turbine manufacturing segment in India, where Suzlon Energy Limited (Pune, Maharashtra) commands a 45 percent market share. Targeting revenues of about $1.37 billion from VPPs by 2020, and orders worth $686.2 million already signed for the fiscal 2010, Siemens is aiming for a 10 percent market share in the domestic renewable energy segment.

Meanwhile, Siemens Limited (Mumbai) has secured an order from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) (Gurgaon, Haryana), worth $21 million, for the construction of a 765/400 kilovolt (kV) substation at Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. The scope of the order, due for commissioning in 2011, also involves uprating of two other substations at Balabgarh in Haryana and Mandola in Uttar Pradesh.

Siemens also has a supply agreement with Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) (Bangalore, Karnataka) for stainless steel electrical multiple units and bogies.

Expansion operations also are under way at the company's turbine manufacturing plant in Vadodara in Gujarat, with an investment of $59.1 million. Slated for completion this year, the expansion exercise will almost triple the facility's existing output. Turbines of up to 100 MW of capacity will be manufactured at the facility, in addition to the 45-MW and 15-MW turbines that are sourced from this unit in India for exports to Africa and other Asian clients.

Accordingly, the company is expanding its Indian workforce through 6,000 new jobs, 3,000 of which are likely to be filled in a year. With 20 percent of India's power production due to go green by 2020, Siemens' entry into the renewable energy segment of India seems to be perfectly timed.

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Tags: Global News , Power Generation