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Sujoy Ghosh, Country-Head, First Solar, and part of the US major First Solar Inc., in a freewheeling interaction with BusinessLine says size of solar projects and pace of implementation could get much faster when it comes to solar parks. Excerpts:
How do you see the Indian solar PV market going forward in terms of installed capacity?
We have come a long way over the past four years with the capacity having touched 4000 MW this March and India poised to add about 3500 MW this fiscal. The main capacity addition would be in the southern States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Capacity nearly doubling shows the demand and the potential. The tender in Madhya Pradesh for 300 MW was oversubscribed by nearly 11 times.
Where do you see capacity addition coming from?
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are poised to add more than half of the country’s capacity during the year. Some of the big companies including Adani, Reliance ADAG and Welspun would be implementing projects in Tamil Nadu and NTPC overseeing projects in Andhra Pradesh.
Apart from land acquisition, the Governments need to address the important aspect of transmission lines, especially for the solar parks.
Are you seeing some new trends in solar installations?
The offer price of about ₹5.05 and ₹5.17 in the recent tenders by SkyPower has kicked up discussion in industry circles about the long term viability of such an offer. SkyPower cornered 50 per cent capacity in Madhya Pradesh.
As opposed to the weighted average price of about ₹6.50 per unit for supply of power, it has come down to about ₹5.75 to ₹6 per unit in the recent tenders, with supply tariffs down by about 10 per cent. Clearly their offer is lower compared to other bidders. If the recent trends are any indication ₹6 seems to be the average tariff.
How is your company doing in India?
We are in the process of executing 200 MW solar PV projects. The first 20 MW solar plant has been commissioned at Mahabubnagar, Telangana and another 25 MW would be ready by October. About 155 MW capacity is at various stages of development.
The land acquisition process, which is the toughest part of the project, is nearing completion.
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