The global economic slowdown has meant turmoil in the solar photovoltaic sector over the past few quarters. This has resulted in lower demand for solar photovoltaic products in developed markets; but the impact on the sunrise sector in India has been mixed . Exports are under pressure, but the cost of deployment is down to Rs 9-10 crore per MW, according to SEMI, the global association for semiconductor and the solar sectors.

The trigger for the fall in demand was the economic slowdown in Europe, and policy changes in some countries. This has meant that prices of solar panels have crashed by 50 per cent, according to Mr Debashish Paul Choudhury, President, SEMI India.

Speaking to Business Line last week here ahead of Solarcon India, the flagship solar PV industry summit, Mr Choudhury said the period up to March 31, 2012 and next fiscal will determine the country's solar PV sector growth chart.

“The industry has deployed 80 MW and expects to see nearly 600 MW coming up in Gujarat, another 150-200 MW in Rajasthan and overall about 900 MW to 1000 MW by March next,” he said.

The impact on the Indian solar PV sector has been mixed, with prices crashing by around 50 per cent. This has meant lower deployment cost of Rs 9-10 crore per MW from about Rs 16-18 crore three years ago. About a dozen companies with the capacity to manufacture 700 MW are faced with lower exports. The situation is tough for companies who have placed orders at higher prices. Whoever is able to renegotiate is better off, he explained.

Prior to the National Solar Mission, over 85 per cent was marketed to Western Europe. With demand dipping, they are forced to focus on local supplies. According to the proposed plan, about 80 MW has been implemented and if things run on schedule , the country would possibly have an installed capacity of around 900-1000 MW by March 2012, he explained.

IMPLEMENTATION

The first batch of 150 MW under the NSM would be ready by March 2012. The Gujarat Government has set December 2011 as the deadline for implementation of 600 MW, packaging it with incentives. Rajasthan would see about 200 MW. Another 350 MW would be firmed up under the NSM for implementation by March 2013. Since they have a low gestation period, it would be possible to implement these projects within a few months, he said.

Domestic banks are beginning to look at the sector more seriously. Several projects have secured funding from multilateral lending agencies or through group resources, and things would change as the situation is ripe for investments, he said. “Projects of Moser Baer, Azure Power and Reliance and others have come up. It is a matter of replicating their success,” Mr Choudhury pointed out.

To achieve a capacity of about 20 Giga Watts by 2020, he said: “We will need 600,000 trained people. SEMI has partnered with IIT-Mumbai to take the initiative to train. Similar arrangements are planned to encourage people to enter this segment.”

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