Suzlon Energy's majority shareholder Suzlon Green Power Ltd, which is privately-owned by the family of Suzlon Energy chairman Tulsi Thanti, has announced a commitment to bring 3,500 megawatts of electricity with the development of $5 billion in green energy assets.

These energy assets will be set up over five years, primarily in India and China and, the company says, will bring electricity to nearly 10 million people.

Suzlon Green Power says it will provide approximately $1.5 billion in equity to the $5-billion project.

The company made the announcement at the 2008 annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City, yesterday, making it the largest single energy commitment at the foundation started by former US President Bill Clinton.

"The urgent global need for clean energy compelled me to dramatically expand my family's business holdings," said Tulsi R. Tanti, the founder of the Indian wind-turbine company, Suzlon Energy Ltd, which in 2007 ranked as the fifth leading wind turbine supplier in the world, with over 10.5-per cent global market share.

Earlier this month it purchased a 22-percent stake in REpower Systems for $396 million, adding to its existing 66 per cent stake in the German wind-turbine maker (See:Suzlon buys out Martifer; raises REpower stake to 90 per cent). 

The publicly traded Suzlon Energy so operates in 20 countries and plans to export wind turbines to 40 countries in five years. So far it operates in the US, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Nicaragua, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Ukraine, United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, The Netherlands and Turkey.

The International Energy Agency estimates that the world's energy needs will increase more than 50 per cent by 2030, and both China and India's energy use is set to double between 2005 and 2030.

Thanti said, "Our flagship business Suzlon Energy continues to focus on developing wind power solutions, offering wind turbines to the global market. On the other hand, we now commit to developing and owning green power assets through Suzlon Green Power, which will bring energy where it is needed most. Suzlon Green Power's business model will offer us an asset-based long term annuity income while mitigating the twin challenges of global warming and climate change. It also adds greater vertical integration to our holdings, building the value of our businesses in the long-term."

 Tanti's efforts are global, with a majority of Suzlon Green Power's projects to be located in India and China, two areas with burgeoning energy needs. The company's commitment also will foster sustainable development and a cleaner, better future for our children by stimulating socio-economic change through job-creation and improved infrastructure.

It will bring more electricity where it is desperately needed in developing regions, and help move those regions toward energy security. The commitment also will help several countries meet the requirements of the Kyoto protocol.

The company estimates that its projects will create 1,000 jobs directly and many times more indirectly, and will reduce seven million tons of CO2 equivalent per year.

 Suzlon Green Power will invest resources and expertise in four key areas:

• Acquire existing green power assets to develop scale and expertise.
• Develop greenfield power projects.
• Garner support and cooperation from a network of vendors, business partners, investors.
• Partner with local NGOs and other organisations to develop neighbourhoods where the power assets will be developed and operated.

Suzlon and other Tanti companies bring extensive experience in wind farm development. Of the more than 30 wind farms Suzlon has developed, two are of significant size: Sanganeri, on the southern tip of India, with 600 megawatts; and Dhule, northeast of Mumbai, with 1,000 megawatts under development.

Suzlon says that along with other global organisations, it is exploring the most efficient renewable energy sources that can be brought to scale to meet this exponentially growing demand for energy.

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was established in 2005 as a project of the non-partisan William J Clinton Foundation, and convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges.

Since 2005, CGI members have made nearly 1,000 Commitments to Action valued at upwards of $30 billion to improve more than 200 million lives in over 150 countries around the world.

Through past annual meetings, CGI has brought together more than 80 current and former heads of state, hundreds of top CEOs and non-profit leaders, major philanthropists, and 10 of the last 16 Nobel Peace Prize laureates.