NEPC orders now trickling in

Rumours that the former Indian partner of Micon, the Natural Energy Processing Company (NEPC), is in financial trouble are denied by the company. But NEPC India Ltd chairman R.P. Khemka admits the wind business has been slow in India for the past two years. "Our growth is dependent on the economic situation. With the liquidity situation weak, clients had put their plans on hold. This is changing as orders are slowly trickling in," he says. The company has started work on a 300 MW wind farm at Sadak in the Hubli district of the southern state of Karnataka and is processing orders from private sector companies for 15 MW of wind turbines, says Khemka. By the end of December NEPC will have installed 10 MW in 1997, he adds, including a 1.2 MW development comprising wind turbines with rated capacities of 225 kW, 400 kW and 600 kW. Power from the project will be sold to the grid at INR 3.80/kWh. Khemka claims that NEPC, based in Chennai near Madras in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, is sitting on 90% of the orders for new wind capacity currently on the books in India. According to a Ministry of Non-Renewable Sources (MNES) report, no more than 20 MW was installed in India over the past six months. NEPC India is part of a larger group of diversified interests.