Monday, October 07, 2013: While the Indian PV market is struggling through difficulties at present, the future does not look bleak. This was concluded at the closing of the 7th Renewable Energy India Expo (REI) in Greater Noida.
Owing to the indecisive government stance, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) program has been standing still on how it should continue. The delay is being caused by political controversies surrounding the domestic content rules along with the possible further measures that could come in with regards to the import of cheap modules among other things, reported PV-magazine. Even the budget issues and the approaching national elections are impacting its state.
Chiranjeev Saluja, managing director of Premier Solar Systems, Chiranjeev Saluja expects the delay to end soon. He told PV magazine, “I reckon that the Indian government will announce the rules of implementation of the second phase of the JNNSM by early November and the ruling Congress Party will emphasize the positive opportunities of PV development as part of their primaries.”
Infact, the project did not even witness any bid invitations since February because of the lack of details about the second phase of the JNNSM at the national level. However, there are several Indian states that are actively working towards PV development, with Gujarat leading the pack.
Giancarlo Chiapparoli, business development manager for India at Italian inverter manufacturer Bonfiglioli told PV magazine, “We have much better business prospects in 2013 compared to last year. He is positive about 400 MW of sales this year. Enerparc Energy also reported positive business prospects.
Yogesh Dabhade D., CEO of Belectric Photovoltaic India, has his doubts though. “Due to the high cost pressure, reinforced by the massive devaluation of the Indian rupee, all our projects in India are currently on hold,” he told PV magazine.
Tata Power is also increasing module export to Europe and the U.S. It has seen good response in the domestic market too with its cell and module manufacturing facility “running at full capacity.”
According to data released by REI organizers, around 11,000 visitors and nearly 500 exhibitors attended the trade show, which was an increase of an approximate 10 per cent in comparison to last year. Analyst Jasmeet Khurana from Bridge to India said that the business is growing. “We expect at least a 2.8 GW development in the coming year in India,” he told pv magazine.
