According to “Solar PV Industry 2010 : Contemporary scenario and emerging trends”, a report from India Semiconductor Association (ISA), there are around 15 solar cell manufacturers, over 20 companies making solar panels and more than 50 firms now involved in solar assembly in the country.
While India does not have any infrastructure for raw material production, this is expected to change with polysilicon production projects being granted in-principle approval by the nation’s government.
PV production in India for during 2008-09 was estimated at 1753 MW of solar cells and 2403 MW of solar panels, with a large proportion of production being exported.
India certainly has motivation to grow its solar power industry, even for domestic applications. The country has cumulative power generation capacity of 152 GW, but faces a deficit of 11% in overall demand and 12% in peak demand. Demand for power is growing at about 6% each year, with the peak load expected to reach 176 GW by 2012 and cross 778 GW by 2031-32.
The Indian power sector is highly dependent on coal fired electricity generation and estimates for its existing coal reserves forecast they will only last another 40 – 45 years.
At present, renewable energy generation capacity in India is 13,242 MW, accounting for about 8.7% of India’s installed generation capacity of 152 GW. As of December 2009, the total grid connected solar power generation capacity was only around 6 MW. Wind power (10.5 GW) accounts for the major part of renewable energy capacity in India.
While ISA says India’s solar PV industry is likely to grow at about 5% during 2009-10, solar PV is expected to substantially increase its presence in the country in the years ahead through government initiatives such as the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. The Mission has a focus on the development of grid-connected solar power applications and has set a target of 1,000 MW by 2017.
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