Unless you have been out of India for a while, you would have surely heard of the excitement in the industry for solar PV power plants, what with the government of India offering Rs 18 per unit for grid connected power plants under the National Solar Mission. But as the government itself has acknowledged, in order for the costs of solar PV power plants to come down (so that they no longer need government subsidies), it is critical for us to build a complete ecosystem for solar PV rather than just being strong at the tail end of the value chain (ie., power plants). This implies that we have hundreds of companies along the entire value chain - from polysilicon production to wafer to cell and module manufacturing, as well as production of the supporting components that are required to keep the value chain well oiled.
Currently, there are companies that make solar cells and solar modules in India, but there are no companies that make wafers or polysilicon (see this post on solar ingot and wafer scenario (http://bit.ly/9bORBo) for more details in this regard). Companies such as Lanco Solar, Bhaskar Solar and Maharshi Solar have plans in the offing, but they are awaiting for details plans from the government on how it would be supporting them in these ventures. It goes without saying that these efforts require significant government support, given the inherent risks and large investment requirements.
Going Up the Solar PV Value Chain for Indian Companies
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power_guy
MemberPosted Wednesday 10 Nov 2010 @ 2:57:21 am from IP #
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