The landscape of India's wind energy sector is undergoing a seismic shift. The Adani Group, having rapidly scaled solar parks, transmission networks, and green hydrogen projects, has now signaled its intent to become a major player in wind turbine manufacturing, not just for its own needs but for the open market. This move directly challenges Suzlon Energy Ltd, India's largest wind turbine maker, which has only recently emerged from a long and painful financial crisis.
A New Era of Competition Begins
The defining moment came when Adani Wind supplied its first external order: 3.3MW turbines for a 70MW project by Opera Energy in Gujarat. This punctured the widespread assumption that Adani's manufacturing was merely a captive exercise for its own power projects. The group has stated an ambition to deploy around 30GW of wind capacity by 2030, a third of the country's 100GW target. For Suzlon, the timing is critical. The company is finally debt-free and profitable, benefiting from renewed policy focus on wind to balance India's solar-heavy grid. Yet, just as conditions improve, deep-pocketed conglomerates like Adani, JSW Group, and Reliance Industries are stepping in.
"This industry has a very long memory," says Girish Tanti, vice chairman of Suzlon. "Wind is not forgiving if you cut corners. It always comes back to performance over 20 years." This philosophy is central to Suzlon's current strategy, forged in the fires of its own near-collapse.
Suzlon's Painful Past and Strategic Reset
In the mid-2000s, Suzlon, under founder Tulsi Tanti, mirrored the ambitious expansion seen in Adani today. It acquired European firms like Hansen and REpower to challenge global giants. However, the strategy proved brittle. Blade failures in the US exposed quality gaps, orders were cancelled, and debt ballooned to a peak of ₹17,749 crore by 2015. A government shift to reverse auctions made wind power more expensive than solar, further straining its business.
The company's nadir involved selling assets and diluting promoter stake to survive. The Tanti family's holding fell from 28% to 11.73%. This collapse taught harsh lessons: speed can destroy trust, and leverage magnifies every mistake. When CEO J.P. Chalasani took charge in 2016, survival was the only goal. His mandate from Tulsi Tanti was clear: cut costs anywhere, but protect research and development at all costs. "If you weaken technology, you kill the company permanently," Chalasani recalls being told.
The disciplined turnaround focused on balance sheet repair, exiting non-core activities, and lengthening testing cycles. By September this year, Suzlon was net debt-free, with borrowings of ₹397 crore against cash of ₹701 crore. Analysts from Motilal Oswal note the turnaround is visible in both revenue growth and a repaired balance sheet.
Why Wind Remains a Tough Business
India's renewed push for wind is driven by grid necessity. Solar power floods the grid during the day but falls short during peak morning and evening hours, creating a structural mismatch. Wind power, which can generate at different times, is now enjoying a premium. However, experts point out that execution, not demand, is the biggest bottleneck.
"A lot is loaded against wind than just demand," says Chintan Shah, founder of SustCred. Transporting massive blades on narrow highways, securing right-of-way permissions, and managing local resistance pose significant challenges. The economics are tough; in India, cranes erect only two or three turbines a month compared to five or six in China. This execution-heavy backdrop is where Suzlon believes its decades of experience provide a crucial edge.
The Capital Rush and the Road Ahead
Adani's entry, with its characteristic scale and speed, marks the first formidable local competition for Suzlon. The group is investing heavily, with its Khavda project in Gujarat's Kutch region envisioned as the world's largest renewable energy park. An unnamed senior Adani executive stated the group is sparing no expense to build its own turbines. Notably, its first external sale of 3.3MW machines places it directly in the mainstream segment where Suzlon operates.
Yet, the global turbine industry has shrunk over two decades, with only a handful of manufacturers surviving repeated technology cycles and warranty liabilities. Wind turbine manufacturing demands a patience that capital markets often lack, sitting awkwardly between infrastructure and precision engineering.
For Suzlon, the legacy of founder Tulsi Tanti, who passed away in 2022, looms large. The responsibility now rests with his brothers: the media-shy Vinod Tanti, credited as the technical brain, and Girish Tanti, the outward-facing anchor. Investor Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharma, who bought a 23% stake in Suzlon during its troubles, acknowledges Vinod's crucial role in stabilization.
With a healthy order book of over 6GW providing visibility for two years, Suzlon's focus is on disciplined execution. "We will never again grow at the cost of survival," asserts CEO Chalasani. As Adani brings the confidence of scale, Suzlon carries the memory of near-collapse. The hardest question for the pioneer may not be whether it can compete, but whether it can take measured risks without forgetting the painful lessons of its past.
