History

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Since its inception in 1995, Suzlon has rapidly expanded its footprint across the world and made a mark for itself through technological and product innovation. Suzlon is a pioneer in the field of wind energy and is currently presence in 17 countries. With over 13,000 wind turbines installed across six continents and 14 world class manufacturing units in India, Suzlon wind energy solutions have become the byword for innovation and competitive advantage.


Here, we present Suzlon’s story over the years.


Read More About Suzlon's journey

Trace the 20 Year Journey of Suzlon

Key Milestones In Suzlon’s Journey

  • 1995 - Suzlon Is Born.

  • 1996-2000

  • 2001-2005

  • 2006 - 2010

  • 2011 - 2015

  • 2016 - 2020

  • 2021 onwards

1995 - Suzlon Is Born.

1995 - Suzlon Is Born.

Tulsi Tanti, a mechanical engineer, was tending to his family textile business in Surat, Gujarat. The business was not in the best of health, mainly due to high operating costs caused by expensive electricity and the frequent power outages. Mr Tanti wanted to explore other avenues for fuelling his business’ need for power. In 1994, he purchased two wind turbines and literally produced his own electricity. Other owners evinced interest in his solution, which inspired Mr Tanti to exit the textile business and enter into the energy sector with Suzlon. In 1995, Suzlon was formed with the idea of giving customers a complete package of wind energy services.

1995 - 2000

1996-2000

After its establishment in 1995, Energy Limited slowly started gaining prominence as a provider of complete wind energy solutions. The nascent company established a technical collaboration with German wind energy leader Südwind Energy GmbH to strengthen and build its expertise in designing Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs). This technological expertise provided the critical thrust which helped Suzlon to set up WTGs across India from 1995 to 2000. During this period Suzlon commissioned its first 0.27MW WTG for Indian Petrochemicals Ltd in Gujarat. It also commissioned WTGs in the state of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The increasing network of WTGs also led to a commensurate increase in installed capacity with the company crossing the 100MW installed-capacity mark in this period. Suzlon also commissioned its first 1MW WTG for the then Tata Group Company, Niskalp Investments in the year 2000.

2001 - 2005

2001 - 2005

Along with product innovation, Suzlon fast-forwarded its efforts to become the most vertically integrated wind turbine manufacturer in the world. It initiated its backward integration with the dispatch of the first set of blades (Type S-60) from its rotor blade unit in Daman. The integration was further strengthened with the formation and commencement of Suzlon Control System (SCS), an MBU at Daman, for the design and manufacture of wind turbine control systems.


During this period, Suzlon went international.

  • It commenced operations in the USA and Germany through wholly owned subsidiaries Suzlon Wind Energy Corp, and Suzlon Energy GmbH respectively
  • A representative office was opened in Beijing
  • Suzlon Energy (Australia) was formed and commenced operations as a wholly owned subsidiary
  • Suzlon Energy A/S, Denmark was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary
  • Mrs Jaywantiben Mehta, Hon'ble Minister of Power, flags off Suzlon's first export order to the USA in 2002

2006 - 2010

2006 - 2010

After attaining a leadership position in wind power generation, Suzlon was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. Its IPO was oversubscribed by 15 times, a testimonial to the company’s leadership as a renewable energy player. In 2005, Suzlon achieved a new milestone in its growth by crossing the 1GW installed capacity mark in India. Its new and improved WTG suites, such as the 2.1MW generator, facilitates better and efficient harnessing of wind power. In just over a decade since it was formed, Suzlon achieved the superbrand status –a testament to its leadership and technological innovation. Suzlon became the only power company in India, the sole renewable energy company in Asia and the lone wind power company in the world to achieve this status. It also ranked #5 in the world among WTG manufacturers in terms of installed capacity.*

2011 - 2015

2011 - 2015

Continuous innovation, a hallmark of Suzlon, led to the development of the S9X suite of wind turbines, which were launched to a global audience at the AWEA Wind Power 2011 conference. Improvising on its product offering, the company produced a variant – the S97 2.1MW wind turbine generator (WTG), built with a hybrid tower (lattice/tubular combination) and a hub-height of 120 meters in 2012.

The S111 2.1MW WTG suite, part of the S9X series, also received certification from TÜV NORD for its 50 Hz and 60 Hz variants in 2015. This certification was awarded for conforming to standards and regulations for design, testing, and manufacturing of the WTG.

New investors, impressed with Suzlon’s growth story, also joined hands. In 2015, Suzlon signed definitive agreements with Dilip Shanghvi Family and Associates (DSA) for equity investments of Rs.1,800 crore in Suzlon Energy Limited for equity infusion to accelerate growth. Suzlon attained other major milestones too during the period. It commissioned its 10,000th WTG at the Artilleros wind farm in Uruguay.

Suzlon’s landmark initiatives, Pure Air Lovers' Society (PALS) and a state-of-the-art training centre for wind technicians in North America were successful in their objectives – creating a community of people supporting wind energy in the case of PALS and preparing for future manpower needs in the latter case.

2016 - 2020

2016 - 2020

Suzlon achieved significant milestones and recognition in the renewable energy sector during this period, including installing a record amount of wind energy, developing innovative technologies and transport systems, and several awards for manufacturing and eco-innovation.

In 2016 Suzlon’s Rotor Blade Manufacturing unit at Badnawar, Ratlam was inaugurated by Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Hon’ble chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. On the product innovation front, Suzlon won the Golden Peacock Eco-Innovation Award for S97 120M Hybrid Tower Wind Turbine. Suzlon surpassed the milestone of 11,000 MW installed wind energy in India in 2017. The first wind farm achieved an operational milestone of 20 years. Suzlon achieved record installations of 1,779 MW with an impressive growth of around 100% over FY16. The product SB63 WTG received the SKOCH Corporate Excellence Silver Award for a Full Carbon Girder Blade in 2018. Also, Suzlon installed and commissioned the new S128, the largest Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) in India. The logistics team at Suzlon developed an innovative two-fold transport system, which used a specialised ‘Adapter Trailer’ for the first time in India. This innovative ‘Adapter Trailer’ ensures unbound manoeuvrability through the hilly terrain while safely transporting the country’s longest blades to the most remote wind sites safely in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner.

The Daman Plant won the prestigious National Award for Manufacturing Competitiveness 2019. In addition, Daman Plant won a Gold award from International Research Institute for Manufacturing. Also, Suzlon received World’s 1st solar project quality certification for its 100 MW project from DNV. In addition, Suzlon successfully completed Debt Restructuring in 2020.

2021 onwards

2021 onwards

The debt restructuring at Suzlon eased the pressure on the cash flows significantly and gave headroom for ramping up business operations. Sulon also introduced a 3 MW flexible platform that could cater to site-specific wind turbines from 2.6 MW to 3 MW product series as part of the ‘Make in India’ process with over 90% of domestic content.

Despite the highly challenging times posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Suzlon’s service teams did a remarkable job and achieved a total Machine Availability (MA) of 96.86%. Undeterred by the pandemic, Suzlon continued to provide uninterrupted power to the nation. The wind farms across nine states with 13,000 MW of wind assets, including substations and over 13,000 km of HT lines/ EHV lines, continued to function optimally throughout this period.

At COP26 in 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced a multi-pronged approach to support climate action, setting targets of 500 GW of non-fossil fuels energy capacity by 2030; and achieving net zero by 2070. Suzlon wholeheartedly supports the green energy transition.

In 2022, Suzlon completed the refinancing exercise to reduce debt by replacing 16 lender consortiums with two government-backed financial institutions. Suzlon also announced its Rs.1,200 crore Rights Issue that was oversubscribed by 1.8x times on closure of the issue period.