SPV In India

We in India have a 30 year old solar energy programme, which very much
includes SPV or solar photovoltaics. See www.mnes.nic.in,
www.greenpeaceindia.org and www.winrockindia.org for more information. About 55-60 MW of power is generated from SPV instalations all over India.
Critical lighting and communications are major applications, even though you
see these being used for applications like rail signalling, cathodic
protection of underground pipelines & vessels, geophysical/oilfield
instrumentation, etc. Very few civilian use installations exceed 100 Watts.

Production has reached 20 MW annually, between nine manufacturers. Yet,
considering a total renewable energy production of 3500 MW, SPV has a very
small share. Its high cost and poor conversion efficiency make it affordable
only where the cost of not having any power is greater than the cost of a
SPV system. Here too, wind and biomass provide better alternatives in cost
terms.

SPV is excellent for low-power-high-quality power in remote locations, esp.
where fuel is not available as in a desert, or where noise and cables are
not affordable for safety/security reasons, like military and mobile
installations.

Reliability is no major issue - plenty of information and tech resources are
available. While silver solder materials are locally availed and importable,
I have made panels using very crude processes in the 80s, which continue to
embarass me by their living presence! It is however critical to ensure that
silicon cells do not get exposed to oxygen, being highly reactive, from the
time they are unpacked. And here lies a difficulty in producing panels. The
controlled environment means a scale for economy.

Before Liberalisation of the 90s by the Narsimha Rao govt., no one outside
the public sector was even allowed to sell a development, let alone produce
anything photovoltaic, except at system level. This has since changed
radically.

Solar cells are largely imported while Mettur Industries manufactures
silicon and few companies like Udhaya Semiconductors Ltd, CEL, BHEL,
RES/Microsol etc 'cut' the silicon sheets into strips and fabrcate the solar
cells. Panels are also made by these companies. As for total systems, Tata
BP Solar is about the world's largest producer, with a turnover of Rs 200 Cr
as of 2001-02.

Hence, SPV in India is a mature and growing industry, with plenty of upward
scope.

Udit Chaudhuri uditnc@gmail.com