<p>With the scope of solar energy increasing in the national energy mix, leading Swiss manufacturers are set to open up solar cell fabrication units in India.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A unit at a cost of $400 million is likely to come up in Gujarat next year to produce solar photovoltaic cell of 480 mw capacity, which may be followed by another plant in Kerala in 2016. Swiss firm Meyer Berger is setting up both fabrication units along with a large Indian business house, whose name has been kept under wraps.<br /><br />“We will produce the wafers locally as India has a cost advantage. Our total investment will be in the range of about $400. We will transfer the technology to our Indian partner,” Peter Pauli, chief executive officer of Meyer Burger, one of the world’s leading players in solar technology, told a group of visiting Indian journalists at his office at Thun.<br /><br />The Swiss company has proprietary technology to produce ultra-thin wafers with “smart wire connection” for higher energy yield, better efficiency and longevity. <br /><br />The Tata Group has also jumped on the bandwagon. It joined hands with Flisom, another Swiss company that produces flexible solar modules using a proprietary thin film technology developed by EMPA – the Swiss federal laboratories for Material Science and Technology. <br /><br />The thin film-based solar cells have the same efficiency as the traditional silicon cells but come with lower production cost. With support from Tata and several other investors, the company is setting up a production facility near Zurich to fine-tune the industrial processes.<br /><br />“We have plans for establishing a large production unit in India. While Switzerland is the R&D base, the manufacturing would have to shift to Asia for cost advantage. The Tata group is one of the largest shareholders in our company,” said Sudhir Kumar, chief operating officer at Flisom. <br /><br />“We have a strategy for the Indian market, but cannot disclose it now. India is a huge market,” he said.<br /><br />A 2013 World Bank report suggests that India is poised to become a world leader in solar technology as it romped up its installed capacity from 30 mw to 2,000 mw between 2010 and 2013. <br /><br />The cost of solar energy has come down to $0.15 per kwh, making India one of the world’s lowest cost destinations for grid-connected solar photovoltaic.</p>
<p>With the scope of solar energy increasing in the national energy mix, leading Swiss manufacturers are set to open up solar cell fabrication units in India.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A unit at a cost of $400 million is likely to come up in Gujarat next year to produce solar photovoltaic cell of 480 mw capacity, which may be followed by another plant in Kerala in 2016. Swiss firm Meyer Berger is setting up both fabrication units along with a large Indian business house, whose name has been kept under wraps.<br /><br />“We will produce the wafers locally as India has a cost advantage. Our total investment will be in the range of about $400. We will transfer the technology to our Indian partner,” Peter Pauli, chief executive officer of Meyer Burger, one of the world’s leading players in solar technology, told a group of visiting Indian journalists at his office at Thun.<br /><br />The Swiss company has proprietary technology to produce ultra-thin wafers with “smart wire connection” for higher energy yield, better efficiency and longevity. <br /><br />The Tata Group has also jumped on the bandwagon. It joined hands with Flisom, another Swiss company that produces flexible solar modules using a proprietary thin film technology developed by EMPA – the Swiss federal laboratories for Material Science and Technology. <br /><br />The thin film-based solar cells have the same efficiency as the traditional silicon cells but come with lower production cost. With support from Tata and several other investors, the company is setting up a production facility near Zurich to fine-tune the industrial processes.<br /><br />“We have plans for establishing a large production unit in India. While Switzerland is the R&D base, the manufacturing would have to shift to Asia for cost advantage. The Tata group is one of the largest shareholders in our company,” said Sudhir Kumar, chief operating officer at Flisom. <br /><br />“We have a strategy for the Indian market, but cannot disclose it now. India is a huge market,” he said.<br /><br />A 2013 World Bank report suggests that India is poised to become a world leader in solar technology as it romped up its installed capacity from 30 mw to 2,000 mw between 2010 and 2013. <br /><br />The cost of solar energy has come down to $0.15 per kwh, making India one of the world’s lowest cost destinations for grid-connected solar photovoltaic.</p>
