INTERSOLAR INDIA 2015: NEW SIGNALS COMING FROM THE INDIAN SOLAR MARKET

India has ambitious objectives for expanding solar energy. The government plans to increase photovoltaic output by a factor of 30 by 2022, to a total of 100 gigawatts. The state of Maharashtra has also committed to a determined energy policy: By 2020, the Maharashtra government intends to install an additional 7.5 gigawatts (GW) of photovoltaic power. This policy provides the backdrop for Intersolar India 2015, taking place in Mumbai, in the heart of Maharashtra, fromNovember 18. Around 200 exhibitors from all over the world are expected at India’s largest exhibition for the solar industry.

Everything is pointing towards growth of the Indian solar market, making Intersolar India 2015 an exciting event. As in the previous year, the Intersolar India Conference will be held in parallel with the exhibition. The first conference day sheds light on current market developments. Both the exhibition and the conference take place at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) in Mumbai. The organizers are expecting around 200 exhibitors and 9,500 visitors.

New government of the state of Maharashtra advocates photovoltaics (PV)

Intersolar India 2015 will be a reflection of ambitious political goals. After the elections in the Indian state of Maharashtra just a few months ago, the new government was formed which is led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The new government has already passed its new energy policy, which proposes a marked expansion of renewable sources of energy. The program envisions the additional installation of 14.4 GW from renewable energies by 2020. According to a recent announcement by Bridge to India, 7.5 GW are to be generated by photovoltaics. Compared with the central Indian government’s guideline for the development of a sustainable energy supply, Maharashtra has been somewhat reluctant. While India’s Prime Minister Modi’s government has set itself the ambitious goal of a total output of 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2022, many observers have been missing a clear commitment from Maharashtra to the country’s energy future so far. The new policy could bring the state to the fore, making itleading in the expansion of solar energy.

India is especially interested in building large-scale PV plants: Two fifth of the targeted output is to come from solar installations on commercial or private roofs, the rest from large solar parks. To promote this development, the state is funding large projects with the equivalent of 290,000 EUR per megawatt, or up to 30% of the project costs.

Focus of the conference program: Market situation and energy storage

The great importance which the government is placing on photovoltaics is reflected in the program of the Intersolar India Conference, which is expecting 500 solar experts. The sessions on the first out of three conference days will shed light on the current developments in the Indian solar market. Energy storage, remote electricity supply, large-scale PV installations and project development and financing are part of the program on the remaining conference days.

Prof. Eicke R. Weber, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, and professor of physics/solar energy at the University of Freiburg, Germany will be keynote speaker. His topic will be “The Role of Solar Energy in our Future, Renewables-based Energy System”. The agenda also includes a lecture entitled “Shifting Gear from MW to GW – India’s Emergence as a Dominating Global PV Market”.