debt crisis: Suzlon Says European Companies Delay Turbine Orders

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May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Suzlon Energy Ltd., India’s largest wind-turbine maker, said companies in Europe are postponing orders as the debt crisis makes it difficult to raise funds for renewable-energy projects.

“A lot of projects are being deferred,” Chairman Tulsi Tanti said in an interview recorded with Bloomberg TV in Brussels yesterday. “Small and medium customers are heavily affected by the financial crisis,” he said without naming companies. “2010 will be a moderate year” for orders.

The European Union’s $1 trillion bail-out plan is yet to revive a credit-market rally as investors doubt the measures will bolster confidence in government finances. Companies are delaying orders until they have obtained funding, cutting Suzlon’s delivery to six months from 18 months, Tanti, 52, said.

“Any slowdown in wind-generation projects would only be temporary,” Walter Rossini, who helps manage about $1.2 billion of emerging market stocks, including Suzlon shares, at Aletti Gestielle Sgr Spa in Milan, said by telephone today. “There is a consensus in Europe on the need for wind power and to reduce dependence on oil and Russian gas.”

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