Australia-based Roaring 40s Renewable Energy Pty Ltd is progressing well with the 50.4-mw Khandke wind farm project in Maharashtra, the company's first in the country. The project is being implemented through a special purpose vehicle, Roaring 40s Wind Farms (Khandke) Pvt Ltd.
Speaking to Projectmonitor, Mahesh Makhija, Business Head - India, said that 36 mw of capacity would come on stream by end-May 2008. The last phase of 14.4 mw comprising 18 turbines of 0.8 mw each is awaiting forest land clearance, he added.
Roaring 40s entered India last year with the Khandke project in Ahmednagar district. In May 2007, it signed an agreement with Enercon (India) to develop the project that will cost $67 million. HSBC Holdings Plc arranged finances for the project, which incidentally is the first case of non-recourse financing in India's wind energy sector.
In India, Roaring 40s has targeted to add 250 mw of wind power capacity. India will account for a significant share of the company's global target of 1,000 mw of wind power capacity that will be installed mainly in Asia and Oceania. Roaring 40s is a joint venture between Hydro Tasmania of Australia and Hong Kong-based CLP Group. It currently has wind power assets of over 500 mw, including those under construction, in Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) and China.