Singapore-based Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd, the Asia-Pacific subsidiary of photovoltaic system integrator Phoenix Solar AG of Sulzemoos, near Munich, Germany, has signed two contracts to install a total of 2 megawatts peak power (MWp) of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV capacity in the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, India.
India’s PV market grew by 57% to about 69MWp in 2010, and the government plans 20GW of installed photovoltaic capacity by 2022. “India is poised for expansion and offers immense market potential,” says Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd’s managing director Christophe Inglin. “The country’s high insolation (1500–2000kWh/m2), combined with plentiful available land, strong demand and power purchase agreements (PPA), makes it an ideal location for solar PV,” he adds.
Phoenix Solar Singapore and local company Alectrona Energy Private Ltd have contracts to jointly supply and install a 1MWp system in Tamil Nadu for Great Shine Holdings Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Zynergy Projects and Services Pvt Ltd. The system uses copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) PV modules made by MiaSolé of Santa Clara, CA, USA, and SMA inverters from SMA Solar Technology AG of Niestetal, Germany. About 9000 modules will cover an area of 1.8 hectares of flat land and feed more than 1600 megawatt hours per year into the National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) grid. The project is funded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), with a PPA of INR18.45/kWh (about €0.29/kWh) for 25 years.
Phoenix Solar Singapore has also signed a 1MWp contract with Chemtrols Solar Pvt Ltd for a project in Gujarat using cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic modules made by First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA together with SMA inverters. The system will use more than 13,000 modules covering 2.2 hectares. The plant will feed 1600MWh per year into the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO) grid, with a PPA of INR15/kWh (about €0.24/kWh) for years 1–12 and INR5 (€0.08/kWh) for years 13–25.
“We value the close collaboration with Phoenix Solar, especially in the early phases of India’s PV market development,” says Chemtrols Solar’s CEO Sharad Saxena. “We appreciate the experience that Phoenix Solar brings to the table.”
For Phoenix Solar’s CEO Dr Andreas Hänel, this is further proof of the growth in Asia. “Internationalization is a critical aspect of our business and we are pleased that our Singapore subsidiary — after the market entry in Malaysia last year — has now successfully entered both Thailand and the Indian solar market,” he says. “These first two projects in India mark a significant first step towards an important market in our portfolio.”
Both projects are scheduled to be connected to the grid by end-December 2011.
