MUMBAI: India is seen as one of the most promising markets for solar power sector growth, domestic manufacturers are seeking a level playing field as huge imports are jeopardising local manufacturing, according to India Solar Manufacturers’ Association. If the ambitious targets of the Government are to be met, India would actually require about 16-17 GW of manufacturing capacity to keep pace with the growing requirement. Pradeep Kheruka, Managing Director of Gujarat Borosil and Governing Council Member at ISMA, believes the country’s solar manufacturers have the capability to deliver projects at grid parity once the duty structure anomalies are addressed. We are, in fact, looking at a situation post the duty imposition, once it happens, solar power would be priced at around 3 per unit and this compares well with power generation from coal fired thermal power plants. But interestingly, now hardly any Discom supplies power at 3 a unit.
We expect a corrective measure soon once a panel of five Secretaries gets to decide on the issue.” Explaining the rationale on how they expect to achieve grid parity, he said, “Once duty is imposed, a temporary marginal increase of tariff is expected. However, this will be mitigated with rapid expansion of manufacturing capacity in the country.
