Suzlon to invest up to $50 million in Brazil wind facility.

Suzlon Energy Ltd., India's top wind-turbine supplier, will invest as much as $50 million in a manufacturing plant in Brazil, its first in Latin America.

The plant, expected to be open in about 18 months, will have initial capacity of 400 megawatts (MW) a year, chairman Tulsi Tanti said in an interview recently. Brazilian banks will finance 75% of the project with the rest funded by equity.

'Now we have the new generation turbines and the Brazilian market has increased,' Tanti said. 'The other Latin American countries are developing their renewable energy markets too, so it is a good moment to have the facility in Brazil.'

With the investment, Pune, Indian-based Suzlon may receive state-backed debt from Brazil's development bank BNDES. To be eligible, the turbine maker must get a significant portion of its components from local suppliers, or make them domestically.


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