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Reacting to Business Line 's report of December 22, which said that British Petroleum might quit Tata BP Solar Ltd, Mr K. Subramanya, Chief Executive Officer, Tata BP, has said that it is “business as usual” at the company.
“Tata BP Solar is not impacted by the decision of BP to gradually exit solar business,” he said, in a statement.
Later, in a chat with Business Line , Mr Subramanya said that while BP had not formally communicated any decision with respect to Tata BP Solar, BP's reported decision to quit the solar business came to him as no surprise.
The joint venture benefited immensely from BP's expertise, he said, adding that the association also gave the Indian company lot of international customers.
Mr Subramanya implied that Tata's solar business in India is now mature enough to be on its own.
The company has a capacity to manufacture 125 MW of PV modules. In the current year, which is a bad year for all Indian module and cell manufacturers because of the global glut, Tata BP Solar would produce modules worth 72 MW. This level of capacity utilisation, Mr Subramanya said, “is not wide off the mark.”
Mr Subramanya is sure that soon inventories would get sold and then prices would increase. “This field can only grow,” he said. However, even in the interregnum, Tata BP Solar will grow, he said.
While the company (like other Indian manufacturers) has not secured major orders from the solar power developers, it has a big play in areas such as solar home lighting systems and solar-powered water pumping systems for agriculture.
On hand are orders for setting up solar electrification at several university campuses. Besides, the company has just completed installation of solar lighting in 15,000 houses in Jammu & Kashmir. Of the order worth about Rs 20 crore, there are another 5,000-odd houses to be taken up for installation, Mr Subramanya said.
Asked about the impact of the cheap, imported solar cells and modules, mainly from China, Mr Subramanya observed that “wheat and chaff will be separated some time.”
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