ABB opens 4th wind generator factory in India

VADODARA, INDIA - Global power and automation technology company ABB Limited has opened a manufacturing facility for wind power generators at Vadodara in Gujarat, India.

The factory, covering about 16,000 square meters, will produce up to 100 generator units each month and provide employment for about 150 people. The generator units will have ratings of up to 2.5 megawatts MW each and are aimed at both the Indian and global markets.

India is currently the world's fifth-largest wind energy producer and aims to partly combat the frequent peak power deficits — which can often reach as high as 12 — by producing a planned 15 of its total energy needs from wind power by 2030.

ABB Limited employs more than 7,500 employees and has 14 manufacturing facilities, over 18 marketing offices, eight service centers and 3 logistics warehouses. The Indian branch of the group, as with its global operations, is split into five divisions — Power Products, Power Systems, Discrete Automation and Motion, Low Voltage Products and Process Automation and is the fifth largest contributor to the overall group business volumes.

Wind generating units at the new Vadodara facility will be supplied to wind power manufacturers around the globe. At the opening of the factory, Ulrich Speisshofer, the Head of the Discrete Automation and Motion Division, stated "Our energy efficient wind power generators will serve the growing need for components in the wind power industry globally."

In addition to the wind generating units, ABB also supplies a wide range of components to the wind power industry, including motors, drive units, transformers and low to medium voltage equipment fitted in the wind turbines, together with high-voltage equipment and cabling used to connect power from the wind turbines to the electricity grid.

ABB has several contracts for cable supplies, notably the supply of cabling intended to link the United Kingdom UK national electricity grid with that of the Netherlands — the so-called BritNed Interconnector — and other cabling connectons linking Wales and Ireland. ABB also recently won a $700 million contract to supply an 800-MW transmission link from the DolWin1 windfarm complex in the North Sea to the German electricity grid.

According to some estimates, ABB intends to spend close to $45 million by the end of next year to add new facilities and expand its existing factory at Vadodara, including capacity enhancements for power and traction transformers.