ABB India is looking at significantly increasing its presence in the solar energy space as the Union and several State governments have lined up mega expansion of solar energy capacity. As prices of oil and coal go up steadily, experts feel, solar power could become an affordable and sustainable source of energy.
According to the National Solar Mission, India is projected to have solar energy capacity of 10,000 MW by 2017. And by 2022, the country will have 20,000 MW. India already has solar power generating capacity of 2,100 MW. Another 4,000 MW are in the pipeline, according to Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New And Renewable Energy.
“Solar energy is getting more acceptability and the growth has been very high since the past three years. There is huge opportunity ahead, and we are poised to leverage that opportunity. We are gearing up to provide turnkey solutions for our clients in India,” Ajay Kawdikar, Vice-President, Country Solar, ABB India, told The Hindu .
“We are very committed to solar energy, and this is evident from the fact that ABB recently invested $1 billion to acquire U.S.-based Power-One Inc. which has enormous capability in the solar power domain,” he said.
Mr. Kawdikar was here to attend Intersolar 2013, a trade show. “We are quite upbeat about the potential of solar energy in India, and our order book position is healthy. We have cumulative orders of 500 MW and we are looking for more,” he said.
He said that ABB had many loyal customers who were now venturing into solar segment and were opting for ABB’s solutions. “We are operating in India for the last five decades, and we have the best of technology available. Most of our solar customers are existing customers,” he added.
New units
ABB, on Wednesday, announced the inauguration of two new facilities to produce power products in India.
The new units were built in 18 months at an investment of Rs.250 crore and are located in Savli, close to the Vadodara facility. The new units will produce high-voltage switchgear and distribution transformers.
