In seven years, HVDC market size is going to be $12-15 billion

Renewable-energy projects are being delayed not because of equipment issues but owing to factors like getting land, say Johan Bindele, head of grid integration and AC systems at GE's grid solutions, and Sandeep Zanzaria, chief executive officer, GE Vernova, India, in an interview with S Dinakar. Edited excerpts:

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Where does India stand in your global transmission portfolio?

Bindele: GE Vernova is organised into three different segments: For the electrification segment, India is among the top five for us in terms of market size (besides the United States (US) and some European countries like Germany and the United Kingdom (UK)). In India we have five factories, which is the highest in the world for us. Today if you look at the backlog (for transmission & distribution in India), 30 per cent is export and 70 per cent is domestic.

What kind of investment plans do you have? How much have you invested?

Zanzaria: In 2009, when 765 Kv (kilo volt) was introduced we built new capacities; when we went in for the HVDC (advanced long distance transmission technology) order, then transformer plant capacity was also expanded to deliver the HVDC transformers. Recently we declared an investment of ₹140 crore in our factories in Chennai and Noida; for debottlenecking capacity, maintenance and other things, we put in another ₹110 crore – so ₹250 crore is currently under deployment.

What is the current size of the HVDC market globally and in India?