SEMI India today announced an outline and vision for the Indian solar market, including growth opportunities and potential, socio-economic development benefits, the current market situation and public policy needs. The SEMI India white paper entitled, “The Solar PV Landscape in India – An Industry Perspective,” suggests that India can play a leading role in the global photovoltaic (PV) and solar industry. The paper was developed by the SEMI India PV Advisory Committee, represented by industry leaders from all sectors of the solar PV supply chain. The report was released by Mr. K. Subramanya, CEO, Tata BP Solar at a special briefing for the media.
The paper highlights numerous drivers for PV in India , including the country’s rising energy needs, persistent energy deficit situation, and the country’s overdependence on fossil fuels for energy generation. India is already home to 9 photovoltaic cell manufacturers and nearly 20 module manufacturers, and the country benefits from an abundant endowment of solar radiation, averaging 300 sunny days per year. Effective public policies in support of PV manufacturing and wider adoption could substantially reduce India ’s dependence on fossil fuels for power generation, and produce enormous socio-economic benefits.
The paper presents ‘the voice of the Indian PV industry’ and attempts to build consensus among industry players and evolve a strong collaborative model that could catalyze the growth of the PV industry.
In his comments after releasing the paper, Mr. K. Subramanya, CEO, Tata BP Solar, said,” This is the first paper of its kind, presenting the Industry view of the transformational potential of PV in India , highlighting challenges and making a call for action. A collaborative effort between the Government, industry, academia and other stakeholders, can result in the creation and execution of a shared vision for PV, with benefits across multiple dimensions. If the recommendations are pursued with vigour, India , with its combination of market, industrial and research infrastructure and advantageous geographical location, could well write the future and lead the world in solar PV.
Dr. Madhusudan Atre, President, Applied Materials India said, “I am pleased that SEMI PV has considered India to be an important growing region. The first of the position papers from SEMI India PV presents the industry perspective on the challenges, opportunities and benefits of solar PV in India . Various focus areas - in the areas of productivity, standards, cost, total systems solutions, environment health and safety, IP, workforce development, etc - need to be addressed. It is an initial step in the direction of creating a robust PV ecosystem and is a call for collaborative participation from industry, government, academia and other stakeholders to grow the Indian PV industry, and address the country's present and future energy needs."
In his comments, Sathya Prasad, President, SEMI India, said, ”There is a great untapped potential for off grid PV technology deployment in India’s many rural areas, based on real needs for lighting and electrification, powering irrigation pumps, providing backup power for the
growing network of cell towers, as well as other urban applications. By making available this off-grid source of power, many of the 450 million people in India who now rely on kerosene and other fuels to light their homes could enjoy a significantly higher quality of life. Effective public policies in support of PV manufacturing and adoption could substantially reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels for power generation, while producing enormous socio-economic benefits like the creation of tens of thousands of jobs across the entire supply chain, from R&D and manufacturing to installation and maintenance.”
Key challenges facing the growth and development of PV in India as identified in the paper:
The need for closer industry-government co-operation The need for common industry standards The need for focused, collaborative and goals-driven R& D for the technology to achieve scale and for India to attain technology leadership The need for financing infrastructure, models and arrangements - to spur the PV industry and consumption of PV products The need for investment in training and development of human resources – to drive industry growth and PV adoption The need for intra-industry cooperation in expanding the PV supply chain, in technical information sharing through conferences and workshops, in collaborating with BOS manufacturers and in gathering and publishing accurate market data, trends and projections The need to build consumer awareness – about the technology, its economics and usageTo address these challenges, the paper offers recommendations and a call for action including
· The creation of a common Government-industry vision to establish India as a PV world leader
· Development of effective financing infrastructure and models that will motivate large-scale PV adoption and investments in the PV industry
· Expanding the deployment of PV in off-grid applications
· Expanding grid-connected PV generation on a large scale.
