India aims at the Sun, plans big for solar energy

India is home to one of the most abundant solar resources in the world. With 2.97 million square kilometers of tropical and subtropical land and an average of 250-300 clear sunny days a year, if India uses just 2 per cent of the land area to harvest energy from sunshine, the power generated can meet the entire energy need of the country.

India has chalked out ambitious plans for solar power generation. The country plans for a double digit growth in this sector to become world’s fourth largest photovoltaic cell and module producing country by 2012. The government has set a target of about 20 MW and 50 MW for the generation of power from solar energy in the 10th (2002-2007) and 11th five year plan (2007-2012) periods. The aim is to generate 100,000 megawatts of solar power by 2030 and 200,000 megawatts by 2050, with Government funding of Rs.85,000  to Rs.105,000 crores ($18.5 billion to $22.8 billion) over a 30-year period.

Crucial to the plan is, building up a sound local manufacturing base. The plan also foresees the need for processing facilities for raw materials, factories and technology parks for making components and equipment and generation parks to produce electricity. The country intends to set up two or three solar manufacturing parks consisting of polysilicon manufacturing plants to make solar cells capable of generating up to 2 GW per year.

 To encourage local manufacturing of photovoltaic, the government announced last year, a   special incentive package scheme (SIPS), under its semiconductor policy.  As per the SIPS, the Centre would provide incentive of 20 per cent capital expenditure during the first 10 years for the units set up in Special Economics Zones (SEZs) and 25 per cent of the capital expenditure in non-SEZ units. A unit can claim incentives in the form of capital subsidy or equity participation.
The proposals under SIPS cover manufacture of a wide variety of items like polysilicon, single/multi-crystalline ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar photovoltaic modules (SPV) liquid crystal display (LCD), integrated circuits - advanced logic, memory, embedded system on chip including assembly, test, mark and packaging facility for semiconductor devices.
To give further push to these plans and targets, the Prime Minister has set up a National Solar Mission and is expected to announce a further ‘Package of Incentives’ to speed up photovoltaic and Solar activities in the country.  

Electronics Today, India’s FIRST Techno-Economic Electronics Monthly Journal, now in 42nd year of publication, is organizing  PV+Solar India Expo 2010, 1st International Conference and Exhibition of Photovoltaics, Solar Thermal, Solar Architecture, photovoltaic Equipment, Materials and Systems, at World Trade Centre, Mumbai, on March 4 - 6, 2010

PV+Solar India Expo 2010 aims to provide a common Forum to all stakeholders in the field - Central, state and local Governments, industry, Manufacturers, Solution providers, Financial & Banking organisations, R&D and academic institutions, and most importantly, the USERS - to achieve these gigantic targets and ambitious goals.