Norway-based vertically-integrated player in the solar energy sector Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) on Monday said it was unlikely to set up its manufacturing presence in India in the short-term as the government policy doesn’t give an equal weightage to all, favouring local manufacturers. The company would rather explore partnership opportunities to expand its presence and is in dialogue with a couple of players to supply its modules to plants that are potentially in the range of 10-15 Mw.
“The government should have a market-centric approach than a protectionist approach. The policy in its present shape favours local manufacturers. We don’t necessarily want to invest in India in manufacturing but are rather looking at business development for now and possibly in research later,” said Anil Yadav, head of Indian sub-continent region, REC Solar Asia Pacific.
Yadav said the company was also testing its products in the field and would soon set up a local REC office in the country. According to REC, the global solar energy sector, which is reeling under capital constraints, is in a consolidation mode.
Meanwhile, a report titled ‘The India Solar Market: Strategy, Players, and Opportunities’ from GTM
Research and Bridge to India, says over the next five years, India is expected to become an anchor of global solar demand, installing over 9 giga watt (GW) between 2011 and 2016.
The market’s gigawatt-scale emergence will be spurred by the maturing National Solar Mission (NSM) and a collection of state-level incentives as well as an influx of expertise from global solar players entering India. This growth will be driven by rising power demand and fossil fuel prices, the ambition of the NSM and various state-level initiatives, as well as by renewable energy quotas, including solar energy quotas for utilities and the subsequent gains in solar cost reduction, the report said.
REC, at Solarcon 2011, announced it was selected as module supplier for a 5-Mw power plant developed by Kanoria Chemicals and Industries Limited in Rajasthan, which is among the first projects to benefit from the Renewable Energy Certification Mechanism in India.
“Our journey in India is very short (one-and-a-half years). However, backed by our distribution partner network in India, we are expecting to end the current financial year with 10-15 Mw,” Yadav said.
