Tulsi Tanti: The Wind Power Legend Who Built India’s Renewable Energy Foundation

Tulsi Tanti (2 February 1958 – 1 October 2022) was an Indian businessman best known for being the founder and chairman-cum-managing director of Suzlon. He was known as the “Wind man of India” (or India’s ‘Wind Man’). Though he passed away in 2022, Tanti’s legacy as the pioneer who laid the foundation for India’s wind power industry continues to inspire renewable energy entrepreneurs worldwide.

From Textile Business to Wind Power Pioneer

Tulsi Tanti was a Gujarati businessman managing a small textile company. Due to the erratic availability of local power and its rising cost, the highest business expenditure after the raw materials was electricity. Tanti ventured into wind energy production as a way to secure the energy needs for his textile company and founded Suzlon Energy.

What started as a practical solution to his own business challenges evolved into a vision that would transform India’s energy landscape. In 2001, Tanti sold off the textile business and took over as chairman of Suzlon Group, fully committing to his renewable energy mission.

Building the Suzlon Empire

Since the founding of Suzlon energy in 1995, Mr. Tanti has been the driving force behind India’s largest wind energy company and the only renewable energy player from a developing nation to rank among the top five worldwide. Under his leadership, Suzlon became a global wind power giant.

In 2003, Suzlon ventured into international markets with an order from DanMar to supply 24 turbines in southwestern Minnesota, United States and set up an office in Beijing, China. This marked the beginning of Suzlon’s transformation into a multinational renewable energy company.

Global Expansion and Strategic Acquisitions

Suzlon reached a definitive agreement for acquisition of Belgian firm Hansen Transmissions, specializing in gearboxes for wind turbines, for $565 million in 2006 and purchased a controlling stake in Germany’s Senvion valued at US$1.6 billion in 2007. These strategic acquisitions positioned Suzlon as a vertically integrated wind power solutions provider.

Tanti was acknowledged as one of the two richest energy entrepreneurs in the world in 2006, and Suzlon was the largest wind power company in the world by market capitalization, demonstrating the global impact of his vision.

Industry Leadership and Recognition

He was the president of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association apart from being the chairman of ZF Wind Power Antwerpen, the Belgium-based manufacturer of wind turbine gearboxes since May 2006. His leadership extended beyond Suzlon to shape the entire wind power industry.

In 2009, he had been awarded the Champions of the Earth award by UNEP in the Entrepreneurial Vision category, recognizing his contribution to global environmental sustainability.

Transforming India’s Energy Landscape

Having a small footprint of a couple of European wind turbine makers in India, Indian Wind Energy stood at a miniscule cumulative installation of only 42 MW in 1992. After Shri Tulsi Tanti set up Suzlon in 1995, he single-handedly took on the task of developing and growing of the sector.

In just five years, by 2000 wind energy installations went up to 1,155 MW a 2310% jump with Suzlon leading the charts. By 2010, India had cumulative wind energy installations of over 13 GW and Suzlon alone had created an export market of nearly 6 GW.

Lasting Legacy in Renewable Energy

Today, Indian Wind Energy stands at nearly 43 GW of wind energy and Suzlon holds 33% of this share. Over the last 28 years Suzlon and Shri Tulsi Tanti have become synonymous with Wind and Renewable Energy.

The journey from “The Wind Man of India” to becoming “The Father of Indian Renewable Energy” represents Tanti’s extraordinary transformation of India’s energy sector. His pioneering work in wind power laid the foundation for India’s current renewable energy success and continues to inspire the next generation of clean energy entrepreneurs.