India as a country is in dire need of power reforms. It is apparent from the
fact that most industrial towns and enterprises, irrespective of their size, are
facing long hours of power outages and power shortage on a regular basis. Given
the scenario, turning to alternative resources and technology is the only
solution that can help these enterprises meet their power requirements and
deliver effectively. Alternative resources are available in the form of wind
energy, hydroelectricity, and the most popular-solar energy.
In fact, the last few years have seen a remarkable growth when it comes to
using alternative resources-based products. The industry size is estimated to be
around $50 billion by 2010.This trend will open up a host of business
opportunities providing appropriate, cost effective and environment-friendly
power conditioning solutions.
Renewable Energy in Vogue
Renewable energy has been growing globally at a rate of about 25 percent per
year. A worldwide rising demand for electricity, growing interest in
environment-friendly technologies and increasing costs of non-renewable energies
are, among others, are reasons for this growth. So while solar energy-based
products are increasingly being adopted, the next trend would be around wind
energy-based products. While wind energy products can only be used in coastal
region, for using hydroelectricity-based products the enterprise has to be
located near a river or dam. Hence, the above technology is yet to gain
popularity. On the contrary, solar energy can be used anywhere. It's the most
abundantly available source of energy.
Players in India
In their bid to provide energy efficient and green products, almost all
players in this space are carrying out a lot of R&D activities around renewable
resources. While Luminous, Numeric and Delta are dabbling with solar
energy-based products, Su-Kam is looking forward to launching products powered
by wind energy. The latter has already installed solar energy based products.
Says Ramesh Gupta, GM, Luminous, "We intend to dabble with products that are
powered by solar energy and not wind or hydro electricity for the simple reason
that the awareness around such products is still at a nascent stage. However,
the industry is showing every sign that it will flourish further and as a power
company we intend to capitalize on the trend."
Luminous is currently offering solar modules and will be making an initial
investment of $15 million in manufacturing such products, which will be followed
by an investment of $200-225 million for another five to six years. The company
is also planning to set-up a plant in the NCR by March next year, in order to
manufacture solar power-based products including solar panel, battery, charge
controller and inverter.
Deepak Sharma, Country Business Head-India and SAARC, UPS Division, Delta
said, "Through this initiative, Delta is targeting enterprises that require
self-sufficiency for their operations or are willing to install the Photovoltaic
System for their total energy requirement. We are targeting such enterprises
that think 'green' and adopt environment-friendly practices as part of their
corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy."
Delta offers turnkey solutions for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)
applications, which include the supply of BIPV modules and solar inverters. The
direct advantage of BIPV over traditional building materials is cost saving,
reduced energy bills besides indirect benefits including reduction in
environmental impact of the building, the green image for the company, reduced
occupant energy usage and innovative architectural and engineering design. BIPV
glazing not only converts sunlight to electricity but also serves as a highly
effective shading element, reducing the annual electricity demand of the
building. When BIPV glazing is used in place of heat reflective glass, total
power consumption can be reduced by a factor of 10.
Su-Kam again is investing heavily in devising power conditioning solutions
and products that offer complete power solutions. The company offers solutions
around power conditioning units, solar cells, solar inverters etc. Su-Kam is
also planning to dabble with wind energy products owing to its cost efficiency
factor, but at the moment its focus is largely around manufacturing solar-based
products. The company offers a number of products right from solar powered
inverters to power conditioning units (200KW) and hybrid systems.
High Cost of Investment
Vipul Gupta, Product Head, Luminous elaborated, "The trend around using
solar-based products is still at a nascent stage. In the first place the
customers will have to make huge investments in order to enjoy the long term
benefits that the products can extend. Besides, even the government will have to
take a lot of steps in terms of extending subsidies so that solar products can
be effectively used and more customers adopt them."
He further mentioned that the initial cost of investment is very high, for
example the cost of a solar inverter is twice the price of a conventional
inverter used for power backup. This aside, the cost of installing the solar
panel is 80-85 percent.
Trends in this space
While the penetration will come only when the government wakes up and
realizes its role in subsidizing the manufacturing and pricing of products and
bringing in regulatory environment, advancement in technology will further boost
the concept of buying solar-based products. Hence, as and when the manufacturing
processes become more advance and the cost of generating power comes down, solar
energy will gain popularity. Su-Kam has already done several installations
abroad including countries like Africa and Middle East.
In order to produce 1kw of solar energy one needs to have atleast 12-15sq ft
area, hence the solution is more popular in enterprises based out of rural areas
considering that there is no shortage of space. Hence, for the data center it is
always advisable to use solar energy for extending partial support. By using
solar-based products, companies will be able to save a lot of conventional
electricity. What this means is that these enterprises will also be able to save
a lot of costs associated to their electricity bills and hence enjoy greater RoI
by merely installing solar-energy powered products. Besides, given that coal in
itself is going to last for another 35-40 years, using renewable resources is
the most viable option.
Opportunities for SPs
Gupta of Su-Kam agreed that there are a host of opportunities that SPs and
SIs can look forward to in this space. "In European markets a lot of SPs are
already offering alternative energy solutions to their customers. However, the
penetration will come through volumes and that will happen only when the
government starts extending subsidies to boost the trend," he added. The SPs/SIs
can enter into contracts with the companies manufacturing solar-based product.
They can then focus on services they can extend besides developing expertise in
providing end-to-end power conditioning solutions.
Pooja Sharma
poojas@cybermedia.co.in