India's PV market grew by 57 percent to reach approximately 69 MWp in 2010 and the government plans 20 gigawatts of installed photovoltaic capacity by 2022. "India is poised for expansion and offers immense market potential. The country's high insolation (1,500 - 2,000 kWh/m2), combined with plentiful available land, strong demand and power purchase agreements (PPA) makes it an ideal location for solar PV", said Christophe Inglin, Managing Director of Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd.
With this in mind, Phoenix Solar Singapore has been focusing its attention on capturing market share in India, recently winning a contract in partnership with the local company Alectrona Energy Private Limited to jointly supply and install a one MWp system in Tamil Nadu for Great Shine Holdings Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Zynergy Projects and Services Pvt Ltd. The system uses copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) modules from MiaSolé, and SMA inverters. Approximately 9,000 modules will cover an area of 1.8 hectares of flat land and feed over 1,600 megawatt hours a year into the National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) grid. This project is funded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), with a PPA of INR 18.45/kWh (approx. EUR 0.29/kWh) for 25 years.
"We have big plans for India's solar sector, and we are very pleased to partner with Phoenix Solar for this pilot project - the first of many to come," commented Mr Rohit Rabindernath, Zynergy's CEO.
Phoenix Solar Singapore has also signed a one MWp contract with Chemtrols Solar Pvt Ltd for a project in the state of Gujarat, India, using First Solar modules and SMA inverters. This system will use over 13,000 modules to cover 2.2 hectares. The plant will feed 1,600 megawatt hours per year into the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO) grid, with a PPA of INR 15/kWh (approx. EUR 0.24/kWh) for years 1-12, and INR 5 (approx. EUR 0.08/kWh) for years 13-25.
"We value the close collaboration with Phoenix Solar especially in the early phases of India's PV market development. We appreciate the experience that Phoenix Solar brings to the table", said Sharad Saxena, CEO of Chemtrols Solar Pvt Ltd.
For Dr. Andreas Hänel, CEO of Phoenix Solar AG, this is further proof of the growth in Asia. "Internationalisation is a critical aspect of our business and we are pleased that our Singapore subsidiary - after the market entry in Malaysia last year - now successful entered both Thailand and the Indian solar market. These first two projects in India mark a significant first step towards an important market in our portfolio."
Both projects are scheduled to be connected to the grid by 31 December 2011.
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