The Hindu Business Line : Companies making a beeline for solar energy plants

Hyderabad, April 1 Enthused by the potential market for solar energy which is projected to grow to $70-100 billion up from $15 billion in 2007, more domestic firms have begun to foray into this segment.

With the Central Government also exploring the possibilities of developing solar cities and also grid solar power generation, possibly with sops, more companies may enter the fray. The Centre has allocated Rs 600 crore for R&D in this segment during the XI Plan.

Tata BP Solar, XL Telecom, Moser Baer, WebelSL Solar and Titan are among those companies with bigger presence and in the process of further expansion. And there are several small players with capacity of 2-4 MW catering to domestic business, looking to ramp up.

However, most of the companies expanding their facilities or new ones diversifying to foray into solar photovoltaic projects, are eyeing the lucrative markets in the European Union and the US, according to Mr. Vasudeva Rao, Executive Director of XL Telecom & Energy, which is investing heavily in India and also overseas.

In a chat with Business Line, Mr. Rao said that within a short span, several companies have taken to solar energy business. However, it would not be that easy for everyone to tap into the European Market, which calls for stringent adherence to quality norms.

Asked about returns on investment, Mr Rao said that on modules the return is about 14 per cent and for solar cells it is higher at 24 per cent.

The Managing Director of Surana Telecom, Mr. Narender Surana, said “our diversification was based on the strong market potential for solar panels in markets in Germany and the US. The relative low gestation project and high returns are one of the reasons for companies to enter this business.”

Goldstone Infratech, another Hyderabad-based company, recently announced its decision to diversify into solar energy by setting up a manufacturing facility with a capacity for 40 mw per annum.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Goldstone, Mr N.K. Rawal, told Business Line that “with the Government giving importance to renewable sources of energy and latent market, we decided to foray into solar power generation. The photo-voltaic modules will be manufactured and marketed to developers globally.”

Of the 18 companies setting up plants in the country, about nine are coming up in Hyderabad, with a few in the Fab City project being developed under the public private partnership initiative of the Andhra Pradesh Government.

In the Fab City, Titan Energy Systems, Surana Ventures, Neotech Solutions are among those along with Nanotech Solutions, which is considering a thin solar cell fabrication facility requiring a much larger level of investment.

Earlier this week, Solar Semiconductor, citing huge orders, announced its intent to expand their manufacturing capacity from 50 Mw to 200 mw.

Some of the other companies like Applied Materials are evaluating India for technology support.

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