Chinese and Indian firms join forces in huge wind energy project

Renewable energy projects are to be built in India with a total capacity of 2.5 gigawatts.

India’s massive wind power potential draws Chinese investors.

Chinese wind turbine maker China Ming Yang Wind Power Group and India’s Reliance Group are partnering to build renewable energy projects in India with a total capacity of 2.5 gigawatts (GW).

Under the agreement, Ming Yang’s Singapore affiliate will take a majority stake in Global Wind Power. Ltd., a Mumbai-based company controlled by Reliance Capital. Global Wind makes wind turbines with a capacity of up to 2.5 MW.

Ming Yang will handle project financing and engineering, procurement and construction for wind projects involving Reliance Power and third parties. Reliance’s role will be to facilitate the projects and provide local market support.

Earlier, this Ming Yang affiliate announced it had signed agreements with two other Ambani to co-develop various clean energy projects.

Reliance Power chief executive J.P. Chalasani said the company was pleased to welcome Ming Yang to India.

“Development of clean power is a key priority for India, and we at Reliance Power look forward to working with Ming Yang to further develop and enhance our portfolio in both wind and solar energy,” Chalasani said.

India is increasing its renewable energy capacity and has set a goal of having 18% of its grid-connected power capacity from renewable sources within a decade. This capacity total some 83 GW out of the 465 GW India estimates will be available by 2022.

India is the world’s third-largest wind power market after China and the United States. China's wind power sector is much larger than India's, with a current installed capacity of 62GW and a 2015 target of 100GW.

Reliance Power expects to source some 10% of its power portfolio from renewable sources such as hydro, wind and solar power. It already produces about 94MW from operational wind farms, with a 200MW wind farm under development.