Indian corporate giants going solar

Tuesday, June 25, 2013: Recently the world’s largest coal company, Coal India went solar. Many big companies like Maruti Suzuki, Dell and IBM have also gone the solar way in India. According to Tata, which is also into solar business, these big companies in the country are turning to solar because it solar power has already become cheaper than grid power in some states, and in many other states it will become cheaper by 2016. Ajay Goel, head of Tata Power Solar Systems, told Bloomberg that solar installations for commercial and industrial consumers caters to a market of around Rs 80 billion. He said that consumers like hotels and shopping malls, that pay the highest rates for electricity from the grid, can generate solar power cheaper by 10 per cent than India’s 35 states and territories. “That will be true in 60 per cent of India’s states and territories, and in 80 per cent if government subsidies are taken into account,” he added.