ABB hits 1-gW mark in solar power

On back of order delivery for Tata arm

 Swedish power and automation technology giant ABB India has announced plans to develop and grow the solar energy business.

“For a country with 300 days of sunshine, India is in a good position to capture the sun’s energy for a better future,” ABB India Country Manager and Managing Director Bazmi R Husain said.

In late-2014, India achieved a cumulative installed capacity of 3 gW (gigawatt) of solar power. “Despite having the fifth largest generation capacity in the world, a third of our population has no access to electricity. We hope to be a key player in India’s solar powered future,” Husain added.

ABB has become the first company to cumulatively sell solar inverters with capacity adding up to 1 gW. The landmark was achieved following the rollout of an order for Tata Power Solar’s Kiran Energy Solar Power project. ABB commenced local manufacturing of solar inverters in 2012, and is a leader in solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters ranging from 100 kW to 1,000 kW.

The country has set itself an ambitious target of 100 gW solar power generated capacity by 2022, and the next 3 gW is expected to be achieved in 2015 itself. Currently, 15 per cent of power is generated from solar energy.  Around 18 per cent of electricity goes to the agricultural sector in India, as against the global average of 2 per cent.

The company has also launched a range of solar pump drives that provide a ‘cheap’ power source to irrigation. “The country has over 9 million diesel pumpsets. The government has planned a fund for 100,000 solar pumps in five years.

Presently, a mere 10,000 solar pumps are active in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, of which, 3,000 are supplied by us,” ABB India President and Local Division Manager (Discrete Automation and Motion) Subir Pal said.

Though the costs of installing solar pumpsets are high, the increase in power generation, uninterrupted supply, and accessibility would lead to lower lifecycle costs. “With 50 per cent conversion, the shift from diesel pumpsets to solar would translate to savings of 25 billion litres of diesel each year,” Pal added.

“The solar energy business is small in terms of revenues, but enjoys high growth potential. When we began in 2010, our capacity was 25 mW, which has reached 1 gW in over four years,” Pal said. ABB sees the sector evolving into a business in excess of Rs 100 crore or more when it matures.

ABB India grew 18 per cent year-on-year last fiscal, and is investing $1.5 billion on R&D. Exports account for 15 per cent of ABB’s total volume. Over $100 million in investment was announced this year towards different capabilities.