sun shines on solar pv industry

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Sun shines on solar PV industry

V. Rishi Kumar

Bettina Weiss, President, SEMI India

The viability of photovoltaic projects, from a purely financial viewpoint, has been estaPRESIDENT, SEMI

The solar photovoltaic industry is passing through a phase of consolidation. It hasdrop in demand and fall in prices. This phase will continue before the sector gathe

For all the buzz, however, the pace of implementation in India leaves much to be deission has kicked up some action, the rooftop solar implementation programme

some States have got cracking, others are still in the process of working out moda

solar PV units.

Bettina Weiss, President of SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Iin the field for over 40 years and oversees the global PV Group, says solar PV inststeer clear of purely cost-based considerations in selecting technology, componentdevelopers must be careful not to compromise on quality in the rush for lowest biPV generation must be based on the sale of power, and not on financial deliveryLine

Excerpts from the interview:

The price of solar PV installation has come down. From Rs 18 per unit, i6.50-7 per unit. Are we close to grid parity?

This reduction has been due to a combination of factors: supply-deman

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competitive pressure as well as reductions in the cost of PV power genethrough technological innovations, economies of scale and efficiency i

Grid parity is best understood as a band rather than a single point. Wachieved first in those areas that have a combination of abundant sunsgrid electricity prices. In the United States, for example, Hawaii and larCalifornia are at wholesale grid parity and residential and commercialparity in much of northern California.

In India, in certain applications such as urban rooftop PV, especially atconsumption spectrum, solar PV is already very close to parity. Power fconsumer Rs 12 to Rs 15 per kWh, and contains a built-in subsidy compprice of gas and imported-coal based thermal power are also on a rapidfactoring in environmental costs. So the case for solar PV is very comperanging from urban situations to telecom and captive generation.

Banks seem to be wary of funding solar units?

With respect to PV power projects, we believe progress has been made.Solar Mission, there were many misgivings about financing of projects,agreements (PPAs), flow of payments and so on.

However, India has made the journey to 1.5 GW (1500 MW) of grid-con

Overseas financing has played a role and domestic banks have seen thatprojects are a viable proposition. Leading developers are building projeIndia today. The viability of PV projects, from a purely financial viewpo

established.

Most module and (the few) cell manufacturers have had to restructureimplementing projects to sustain their production or are operating welleven exited manufacturing entirely.

Most projections suggest that PV module sales revenue recovery will besteadily from there on.

Strong market drivers such as national and State policies, rooftop polic

certification (REC) mechanism, enforcement of renewable purchase oboff-grid market will open opportunities again for domestic manufactur

Once businesses see recovery in demand there could be renewed interemanufacturing activity. This would make financing of manufacturing u

In the backdrop of general slowdown in the global market, how do you

Solar PV demand in India will keep growing across all segments off-ggrid connected MW scale in rural, urban and commercial markets. Itmarket for PV products, components, systems and services. Innovative

electrical appliances, pump sets, power electronics and mounting/trachuge localised demand.

How does one accelerate the growth of solar PV units in the country?


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Key demand drivers such as enforcement of RPOs, financial restructurienablement of the entry of independent power projects under the RECnet metering to support rooftop PV with self-consumption, incentivesof diesel for power back-up and irrigation pump sets are just a few of mthe market.

gainst the backdrop of dumping concerns, local units seem to be facinthis?

India needs a large capacity, fully integrated domestic manufacturing cmodules and systems) to innovate on price, quality and performance an

buyers. Costs seem to be high for individuals wanting to set up rooftop

For a variety of reasons rooftop PV systems are very suitable for India.versus grid power tariffs shows that at the higher end of the consumptikWh per month) its costs are already almost at parity levels in some citi

With further reduction in prices of PV installations, rooftop units will asegments of urban consumers. Capital subsidies have also been announTamil Nadu, AP) to expand adoption.

Reports suggest that India will reach between 2GW and 5GW of rooftopinstallations in the next 3 to 4 years making RTPV a major market drive

What is your expectation in terms of solar PV energy installation growt

We see solar PV growing across all segments and applications in the co

headroom for PV, given the power deficient situation and inaccessibilitcan surpass the 20 GW figure called out in the National Solar Missionhave market and policy visibility, continuity and regulatory enablement

There is also a need to couple this with the development of a robust, comanufacturing ecosystem encompassing materials, wafers, cells, modugreat opportunity to deliver superb price, performance, quality and reliPV manufacturing.

(This article was published on July 10, 2013)

Keywords: solar photovoltaic industry, National Solar Mission, Bettinacertification, rooftop photovoltaic

Printable version | Jul 12, 2013 10:34:02 AM | http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/artic


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sun shines on solar pv industry

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