Spain's Gamesa wins $2bn Indian wind turbine order

Spanish wind turbine giant Gamesa said Tuesday it had won a $2 billion (1.4-billion-euro) deal to supply turbines in India, touting it as one of the largest contracts of its kind in the world. Gamesa signed an outline agreement with Caparo Energy India Ltd to deliver wind turbines with a combined capacity of 2,000 MW over the next five years, it said in a statement. The agreement was one of the largest wind turbine contracts signed in India and among the biggest in the world, Gamesa said. It was valued at $2 billion over the five years, a spokeswoman told AFP. The announcement pushed Gamesa shares up 1.99 percent to 6.40 euros in afternoon trade. Gamesa said it would produce the turbines at its factories in India, supplying 150 MW of turbine capacity in 2012 alone. "The deal represents a turning point in the Indian wind energy market and heralds further progress in the industry's rapid growth in India," the company said. Wind turbine capacity totalling 2,500 MW was installed in India 2010 and the country's targets call for the 5,000 MW a year through 2015, it said. The wind sector in India had been growing at 30-40 percent annually in the past five years and this was set to accelerate, the company said. Gamesa announced earlier this month that net profit rose 67 percent from a year earlier to 13 million euros (18 million) in the first quarter of 2011, notably because of surging wind turbine sales in India.