India’s solar power industry is grabbing headlines with a flood of new announcements coming out of SolarCon 2011, currently taking place in the city of Hyderabad.
India appears to be on track to becoming the world’s biggest solar nation, as its National Solar Mission opens new avenues for foreign investment in India’s growing economy.
New Delhi-based consultancy firm, BRIDGE TO INDIA, have used SolarCon 2011 to release details of a new report conducted with GTM Research that reveals proactive government support programs for solar projects at the state and federal level is predicted to boost India’s total installed solar energy capacity from just 54 megawatts (MW) in 2010 to more than 3,000 MW by 2016.
“The India Solar Market: Strategy, Players, and Opportunities” report contains analysis of the ongoing growth of solar power throughout the nation. It identifies the National Solar Mission as the major contributing factor in fuelling this growth, along with various state-based incentives such as the Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka Solar Policies.
India’s National Solar Mission is a government-backed solar investment scheme aimed at achieving grid parity with fossil fuels and installing 200,000 MW of solar energy capacity by 2050.
National solar manufacturing in India will also rise to 1,500 MW of solar panels and 600 MW of solar cells by the end of this year, according to the report. This capacity is expected to double by 2015.
Another major sponsor of the Hyderabad conference and winner of the 2011 Solar Industry Award for Silicon innovation, REC, announced it has been chosen to supply its high performing REC Peak Energy Series solar panels for a 5 MW solar farm being developed by Kanoria Chemicals & Industries Ltd., in Rajasthan.
REC says it is expanding sales of panels into India due to increased demand. “REC is honored to be selected as the supplier for this landmark project which will help Rajasthan and India to benefit from solar energy,” said Anil Yadav, from REC Solar Asia Pacific.
REC solar panels have already become a common sight on Australian residential rooftops since national provider Energy Matters introduced the modules to the local home solar power market in the middle of 2010. The panels proved so popular, in late 2010 Energy Matters entered into an agreement for the purchase of 20 megawatts of the modules, one of the largest single solar panel supply agreements in Australian history at the time.
