ENERCON set for 1,200 turbine refurbishment in India

News Article as published by www.windpowermonthly.com on 25 July,2017, is as follows:

Enercon set for 1,200 turbine refurbishment in India

25 July 2017 by Sara Knight 

INDIA: German manufacturer Enercon is set for a major refurbishment of its Indian fleet, following the completion of a long-running legal dispute in the country.

Some 800 inactive wind turbines and a further 400 operating in curtailed mode adding up to 860MW in capacity in India could be re-activated now that a long legal dispute has been resolved and Enercon is able to re-enter the Indian market.

During Enercon’s enforced ten-year absence from India, its former joint venture partner manufactured wind turbines illegally using Enercon technology, the firm told Windpower Monthly.

A recent judgment handed down by the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) in London, designated as the competent court for the issues by India’s Supreme Court, delivered a “comprehensive final award” in Enercon’s favour, “which concluded a number of disputes including on use of Enercon’s intellectual property, and enables the company to return to the Indian market on new terms,” said Enercon.

Since 2007, Enercon has not been allowed to provide maintenance or spare parts, it added.

The lack of parts has caused problems at hundreds of turbines, impacting India’s electricity supply and creating risks for wind power producers, investors, and banks, said Enercon.

Although Enercon is not responsible for the current maintenance problems, dissatisfied owners and operators of the turbines using Enercon technology are increasingly contacting Enercon in Germany for fast and direct maintenance services and spare parts, said the company.

With the legal problems out of the way, Enercon “feels obliged to offer a quick, effective and pragmatic solution to the maintenance problems”.

The first step has been to clinch non-exclusive cooperation agreements with independent Indian service providers – Renom Energy Services, Kintech Synergy, and POWERCON Ventures India – for repair, maintenance and service of turbines using Enercon technology.

Under the agreements, Enercon supplies original spare parts to the three service partners and provides them with comprehensive technical support and training.

Enercon also assures the availability of special tools necessary for turbine maintenance in India and has already begun to deliver original spare parts from Germany to its Indian service partners, it said.

More than 6,700 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 4.8GW using Enercon technology are now installed in India.

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Source: http://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1440371/enercon-set-1200-turbine-refurbishment-india as published on 25th July, 2017.