China Ming Yang Wind Power Group is to gain a significant foothold in India, thanks to an agreement to co-develop up to 2.5GW of clean energy projects with one the country's biggest companies, Reliance Group.
Under the deal, the Chinese wind turbine manufacturer will take a "significant stake" in project developer Global Wind Power Limited (GWPL), in which Reliance Capital (a subsidiary of Reliance Group) and its related entities are currently the largest shareholders. The 2.5GW wind farm project development plan is part of a separate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Reliance Power, the largest private sector power company in India.
Under the MOU, Ming Yang will provide total engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions, including micro-siting, wind resource assessment studies, project financing and other services for the proposed projects for Reliance and third parties. Reliance is expected to play a supporting role in facilitating these proposed projects in addition to providing local market support.
"This is a milestone of Ming Yang's development in the Asian region, and in particular, India, which we believe is going to be one of the fastest growing renewable markets in the next few years," said Chuanwei Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ming Yang. The partnership with Reliance will enable the Chinese firm to "quickly capture and grow India and South Asia markets", he added.