‘India PV EDGE 2020’ to focus on emerging solar technology

There will be various sessions on emerging trends in ‘Wafers and Cells’, ‘Modules and Production Equipment’ and ‘Supply Chain’. It will also include an ‘Investors Conclave’ on PV manufacturing. 

Solar deployment has been the flagship green growth story of the last decade and this would be instrumental to stimulate growth and build a climate-resilient world. India has become the third-largest solar capacity country in the world and set an ambitious target of 450 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, comprising 300 GW of solar capacity.

Cutting-edge giga-scale solar manufacturing stands on three pillars: (i) disruptive PV chemistries, (ii) manufacturing by custom-engineered advanced production equipment, and (iii) utilisation of innovative BOM components like special glasses and coatings. 

The ministry has invited companies involved in all the three pillars to present and engage the Indian industry in the symposium, which will catalyse the momentum for further discussions and collaborations.

Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh will participate in the conclave. This will be followed by an ‘Investors Roundtable’, which will discuss and deliberate upon issues related to India’s solar manufacturing sector, viz, affordable financing, role of developers in building the ecosystem of cutting edge solar manufacturing etc.

The major factor behind the rise of solar deployment is giga-scale solar manufacturing and the continuous adoption of innovations to reduce prices. Hence, solar PV manufacturing is one of the strategic sectors announced by the Indian government as part of the post-Covid Aatmanirbhar Bharat recovery initiative.

Efforts are underway to make India a global hub for solar PV manufacturing, and significant giga-factory announcements are being made by local and global firms. The Indian government is also coming up with innovative initiatives to promote cutting-edge solar manufacturing in India.

The Covid-19 pandemic has created an enormous impact on the global economy. After the 2008–09 financial crisis, green measures accounted for 16 per cent of the total stimulus measures. To recover from the covid-inflicted impact and to battle the impending threat of global warming, governments must be even more ambitious and decisive towards clean investments. International cooperation and leveraging strengths are crucial in these times.

Union minister for power, and new and renewable energy, R K Singh, NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, joint secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy Amitesh Kumar, MD and CEO of Invest India Deepak Bagla and additional secretary NITI Aayog Rakesh Sarwal will attend the plenary session. Around 60 prominent Indian and global CEOs are slated to attend the event virtually.

India’s NDC document of the Paris Agreement in 2015 called for extraordinary vision, leadership, compassion, and wisdom to combat climate change. India PV EDGE 2020 is one small step towards that ambition.