The SANY Group’s long-standing commitment to Africa dates back to 2006 when its first office was opened in Johannesburg, South Africa. SANY sees the African continent as a strategic partner to support, through addressing the need of the just energy transition by accelerating the evolution for transition towards a cleaner and greener energy future through our renewable energy technologies.

SANY Renewable Energy under the arm of the SANY Group, has over the last five years increased its market share steadily to 7.75% where it is now among the top 10 onshore wind turbine manufacturers globally and annually features prominently in the top 500 global energy enterprises.

SANY Renewable Energy country divisional lead Hebren James says it is symbolic that SANY Renewable Energy is now accelerating its effort into African markets as it continues to aspire to become a key player in the international wind power market. SANY Renewable Energy’s global journey started in Africa in 2013 upon winning the bid for the Ethiopian ADAMA wind power project. The 102 units of wind turbines set a record for the largest export order of Chinese wind turbines up to that point.

Globally, SANY Renewable Energy has expanded its reach around the world, with Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, India, Europe and Africa being key areas.

“Our strategy remains in creating long-term value for the communities where we operate. We want to make a positive impact that lasts for generations in communities. Beyond the provision of renewable energy solutions and employment, we also focus on promoting education, social, enterprise and environmental opportunities,” says James.

The global clean energy transition holds new promises for Africa’s economic and social development. These ambitions are helping set a new course for the African energy sector amid the current challenges facing the industry to increase the deployment of further renewable power. However, as a promising sign of things to come, several African countries have already succeeded in making steps necessary to scale up renewables, such as adoption of support policies, investment promotion and regional collaboration.

“At SANY Renewable Energy, we are taking the long-term approach, and our acceleration into the African markets is fuelled by the ever-increasing need for providing African people with direct access to basic services such as electricity and as many wind turbine manufacturers in the sectors are facing negative profitability, we remain committed to addressing our customers’ needs for competitive levelised cost of electricity.”

In recent years, with substantial investments into research and development (R&D), SANY Renewable Energy has established a global R&D network in major cities in China and a R&D centre in Spain. As part of the wave of SANY’s intelligent and digital transformation, SANY Renewable Energy is one of the pioneers in promoting China’s 5G wind power technology to the world. Its intelligent manufacturing bases produce in-house wind turbine blades and generators to ensure the high quality and efficiency of the manufacture of intelligent WTGs, which guarantees SANY being a reliable global provider in the renewable energy industry. The 5G Smart Factory has achieved 28% improvement in quality and 40% improvement in efficiency [compared with traditional factories], says James.

SANY’s new 915 platform, with a power rating which supports up to 8.XMW, has two working prototypes and has already undergone comprehensive testing.

With onshore wind rotor diameters of over 200 m, the 915 platform uses SANY’s latest component and control technology, along with a proven drive train concept and a compact nacelle design.

There are already orders from various markets for the 7.X-8.XMW model. DNV has certified the platform’s components and testing systems. Hebren says the platform fits firmly into the company’s philosophy on turbine design. “Higher, larger, longer, lighter, and smarter – namely: high tower, high power, long blades, lightweight and intelligent control,” he explains.

With the application of this innovative technology, the factories become an intelligent body. These are fully connected, smart factories that have significant, flexible, cost-effective capacity, solving many of the challenges facing manufacturers across the world.

Through these factories, SANY Renewable Energy is proud of the company's SE-17260 wind turbine being recognised internationally as one of the Top 10 Onshore Wind Turbines (5.6 MW-plus) of 2022 by the wind industry. This is the second consecutive year that SANY Renewable Energy's SE-17260 has received such a prestigious recognition, which is a testament to the turbine's outstanding performance, reliability and efficiency, and the company's standing in the global wind energy industry.

"This high ranking once again confirms SANY Renewable Energy's position as one of the world-leading wind energy powerhouses and innovators. SANY Renewable Energy will build on its expertise in renewables to drive technological breakthroughs for wind energy, bringing more value to customers with high-quality products and services while creating a greener future with intelligent manufacturing," says James.

Looking to the future, SANY Renewable Energy will continue to remain focused on its technological vision to develop industry leading wind turbines, with stronger intelligent capabilities, providing cost-effective wind energy solutions to bring down the costs of wind farms. This will not only help bring higher value to customers but also enable the global economy to accelerate toward decarbonisation targets.