Magazine SEA 3.5 Edition - Global Solar Technology

Debasish Paul Choudhury, president,
SEMI India, stated, “According to the
Central Statistical Office’s “Energy
Statistics 2012” report India’s renewable
energy generation potential is roughly
89,760 MW, of which Gujarat accounts for
14 per cent followed by Karnataka with 12
per cent (11,071 MW).
Karnataka Renewable Energy
Development Limited (KREDL),
Karnataka’s proactive renewable energy
agency, has set a target of installing 200 MW
of solar projects by 2016 and has plans to
set up a 1,000 hectare solar park on Public-
Private Partnership (PPP) model by 2013.
SEMI is backing the KREDL initiative
by bringing the best professionals from
the industry, government, academia and
financiers to discuss key implementation
aspects and challenges ahead for both On-
Grid and Off-Grid Solar.”
In addition, SOLARCON India
2012 will feature a short skill development
course on “Thin Film PV Technology
— Cells to Systems,” in technical
collaboration with the NCPRE (National
Centre for Photovoltaic Research and
Education) based at IIT- Bombay during
September 4-6.
SOLARCON India 2011, which
was held between November 9 and
11 at Hyderabad Convention Centre,
www.globalsolartechnology.com
Hyderabad, India
had 114 exhibiting
companies. The event
was attended by around
3,500 visitors including
delegates.
Debasish Paul
Choudhury shares
more details on the
event and about the
Indian solar industry
with Usha Prasad.
Excerpts:
GST: What’s
new and
unique about
this year’s
SOLARCON
India event?
Debasish: The event has
been certified by the US
Dept. of Commerce,
and we will set up a
dedicated “US Pavilion”
on the expo floor.
For the first time, SOLARCON India
would host a small “Taiwan Pavilion” on
the show floor, and we would be hosting a
Taiwan Delegation consisting of 6-8 solar
PV technology companies during the
show; organised by ITRI IEK and SEMI
Taiwan.
We have received an encouraging
support from Karnataka Renewable
Energy Development Limited (KREDL),
Karnataka Electricity Regulatory
Commission (KERC) and Dept. of
Industries, Govt. of Karnataka.
GST: Kindly brief us about
the short skill development
course on “Thin Film PV
Technology — Cells to
Systems” to be organised
during SOLARCON India
2012?
Debasish: The short skill development
course on “Thin Film PV Technology —
Cells to Systems” is organised in technical
collaboration with National Centre for
Photovoltaic Research and Education
(NCPRE) at IIT Bombay. The course
Bangalore to host SOLARCON India 2012 from September 3 - 5.
presenters will be from the industry,
research and IIT Bombay.
This short course is for -
* Professionals from the solar industry,
research or academia
* Components and systems designers
and integrators
* Science graduates/engineers or
students in electrical or related
engineering
GST: In your view, how is
the solar market doing
in India? How far has
the industry progressed
towards achieving the
target set by the JNNSM?
Debasish: The solar market in India is at
an inflection point now. Solar capacity
additions in the country have been
growing at breakneck speeds since the
inception of the National Solar Mission,
ably supported by the Gujarat State Solar
Policy, which highlights the impact of a
strong state specific solar policy. The solar
capacity in the country which once stood at
about 20 MW (2010) has recently crossed
the 1 GW mile stone in June 2012. With
more states such as Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh etc., coming up with their own
policies, the capacity additions in the
country are likely to grow at exponential
rates over the coming years. In addition
to the state policies, RPOs are expected to
act as one of the key catalysts to capacity
additions in the short term.
Sensing the promise of continued
growth, many large as well as small
enterprises took to solar PV manufacturing
in hopes of garnering a huge chunk of this
large pie. However, with global PV prices
falling rapidly as well as the fragmented
implementation of the domestic content
requirement, various domestic solar PV
manufacturers have had to scale down
their operations or shut shop entirely. India
has become a viable country to develop
projects, but has failed in achieving the
target of setting up a complete solar
ecosystem.
Overall, the solar industry in India
today is in a deceleration mode due to a
number of factors, both local and global.
Global Solar Technology – August/Sept 2012 – 15