1) Production of photovoltaic cells
As of January 2009, India has 19 solar photovoltaic module manufacturers, and several larger investments are underway, including projects developed by PrabhGoe1. PrabhuGoe1 Solar Energy plans to invest up to US$2 billion in solar energy development.
India is increasing its share of photovoltaic panels in the world market. Signet Solar Company, located in California, USA, announced in late December 2007 that it would invest US$2 billion in the next 10 years to build three solar photovoltaic product manufacturing plants in India. Once completed, each of the three factories will have an annual output of 300MW. India aims to manufacture the lowest cost solar photovoltaic modules in the world. Signet Solar also plans to establish a research and development center in India. India’s attractiveness lies in its low-cost labor and manufacturing bases. In addition, India can enjoy tax relief and subsidies for companies that produce photovoltaic panels. For this reason, it is expected that India’s sales in this market will increase from US$6 billion per year to US$40 billion per year in 2010. The construction of a new solar photovoltaic product manufacturing plant will accelerate India’s entry into the field of renewable energy. At present, India’s renewable energy capacity is about 10GW, and it will increase to 80GW in the next 25 years.
In mid-March 2008, Ta ta Power and BP Solar formed the solar energy company Ta ta BP Solar. The company has become India’s largest solar photovoltaic manufacturing company. The company will more than quadruple the production capacity of solar photovoltaic cells to 180MW. . The company’s final photovoltaic cell production capacity will reach 300MW. Ta ta BP Solar is also the largest manufacturer of solar water heaters in India, with an estimated operating income of 8.5 billion rupees (US$209 million) from 2007 to 2008.
Alpex Export Company of the United States and Spire Company of India signed a contract at the end of April 2008 to build a photovoltaic module assembly line in New Delhi, India. This will be Spire’s first solar photovoltaic module production plant and will support the growth in demand for solar photovoltaic modules in India and the development of the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) market. According to this agreement, GreenBrilIance, a Virginia-based company in the United States, will provide Spire with a semi-automated crystalline silicon cell module production line that can produce 15MW of solar photovoltaic modules per year. The Indian solar market is expected to more than quadruple by 2010.
The Indian Waaree Energy PVT Company announced in early June 2008 the construction of a solar photovoltaic module production plant in Surat SEZ, Gujarat State, India, and the introduction of automated production lines from Europe. The plant capacity in the initial development phase will be 30MW per year. The solar photovoltaic module scale of Waaree Energy PVT Company is 5~230W.
2) Construction of photovoltaic facilities
India will increase investment in solar photovoltaics. The number of sunny days in most parts of India is 250-300 days per year, and the annual solar radiation is 1600-2200kW·h/m², which is equivalent to an energy potential of about 6 billion GW·h per year.
India is accelerating the pace of solar energy development. As of February 2008, Moser baer photovoltaic company installed only 3MW of solar power connected to the grid in India. The company plans to change this situation. Moser baer photovoltaic company has launched a series of new development plans, including setting up India’s largest grid-connected solar farm in the sunny state of Rajasthan and expanding production capacity. Moser Baer Photovoltaic Company cooperated with Rajasthan Renewable Energy Company (RREC) to build a 5MW solar power plant in Rajasthan State. At 4.5 million USD/MW, the total investment of this solar power plant is 25 million USD.
Moser baer Photovoltaic Company expanded solar PV facilities near New Delhi and built a new facility near Chennai. The main expansion is thin film photovoltaic cells, from 40MW in early 2008 to 600MW in 2010, with a total investment of 1.5 billion US dollars. By March 2008, the capacity of crystalline silicon cells had been increased from 40MW to 80MW.
India announced in early 2008 that it would provide subsidies for solar power generation facilities to help develop renewable energy infrastructure. India will provide financial support of 12 rupees (30 US cents)/(kW·h) for solar photovoltaic and 10 rupees/(kw·h) for solar thermal power generation entering the grid. According to the plan, the private sector will invest about 10 billion rupees ($253.7 million) in solar energy facilities within five years of 2012.
The Indian government implements a subsidy of US$750/kW for residential or commercial solar facilities, up to a maximum of US$1,250 per household. Subsidies for communities and public facilities are even higher, reaching US$1,250/kW. India has abundant sunlight resources. It receives approximately 3000 hours of sunlight per year and has a photovoltaic potential of approximately 20MW/km². It is estimated that in the next three years, the price of solar power generation will drop to 0.12 to 0.15 cents.
On August 19, 2009, ZebaSo1ar in New Jersey, the United States won an order for the first large-scale photovoltaic power plant project in Gujarat, India. The 743MW solar photovoltaic power plant will be the largest in India and one of the largest projects in the world so far. ZcbaSo1ar will In 2010, the first 10MW photovoltaic capacity was set up in India. The Gujarat State Photovoltaic Project will invest 49 million U.S. dollars. The project is expected to generate 1.637×107kW·h per year and have an operating life of 25 years. All photovoltaic systems will use photovoltaic tracker panels set on the ground.
India’s Suniva Power Company announced on November 24, 2009, that it will cooperate with Titan Energy Systems in Jamuria, West Bengal, to complete India’s first large-scale solar power project. Suniva Power’s solar cell power generation capacity will be 1MW, which will be increased by the beginning of 2010. 250kw.
The Ministry of New Energy and Renewable Energy of India announced on December 29, 2009 that it would develop India’s first private MW-scale PV facility in Punjab. The 2MW-scale PV facility was constructed, owned and operated by Azure Power Corporation. The PV facility is located in Awan (Amritsar) and can provide electricity to approximately 42 villages. The company has signed a 30-year power purchase contract with Punjab State Electricity Bureau, which can reduce CO2 emissions by 25.35×105t annually. Azure Power is India’s first independent power producer in the solar market. The company will set up another 22MW of solar power generation facilities in Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat states. It also plans to increase the total power generation business in India to 100MW by 2013.