We have already seen North track down the trail that leads from Suzlon’s Tulsi Tanti to RK Pachauri . While the meteoric rise and somewhat less spectacular fall of Suzlon is known, new readers might be interested in a fresh perspective on certain parts of the whole story. Details that are not widely known emerge — of movie superstars willing to campaign against climate change and put their money where their mouth is. Actors and actresses strive to bail out floundering windmill sellers and keep their own interests afloat in the process.
Even after the Kyoto protocol, many Indian states were unwilling to support wind-power as a reliable addition to the power grid. In their bid to create conditions conducive for ‘alternative energy sources’, the centre and state governments created a heady mix. These included depreciation benefits, tax benefits, money from the ‘clean development mechanism’ and easy environmental clearance. Tracking the trajectory of the company, one sees how each of these rungs Suzlon planted its feet on became slippery or came undone, leaving the company hanging where it is today.
