Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat was the host of Intersolar 2021. More than just a political seat it has been thriving as a commercial and cultural hub. At Intersolar, the exhibition was world-class.
In the exhibition, the Chinese presence was muted. We cannot deny though there was no presence of Chinese presence no doubt the Chinese role in Solar would remain dominant and critical for the foreseeable future. With the nominal ‘loss’ to the government even higher with the high duty rates of 25% on cells and 40% on modules that are due from April next, developers have a tough time explaining why they will need Chinese imports at lower rates to ensure large projects stay viable.
MORE, LARGER and OUTWARD
Domestic manufacturers made their strong presence in the exhibition. Especially the cohort of Gujarat based firms, from Adani Solar, Waaree Energies to Goldi Solar and more. even as the uncertainty around BCD continues to be a worrying factor for many manufacturers in the module business, the seeming contradiction of aggressive capacity expansions for many was driven by a high share of planned exports, especially to the US and Europe.
Gujarat at the forefront: You can’t help thinking that doing this in Gujarat has done a lot more to convince foreign visitors about the solar market and potential in India, than many other possibilities. Not only is solar visible in the state today, in the form of a strong rooftop presence where the state has dominated capacity build in recent years, but in the sheer entrepreneurial energy and optimism against odds of the many manufacturers, installers and other stakeholders here. Supported by a policy environment that has cleaned up the process for rooftop solar approvals, and kickstarted major solar park plans for the state, Gujarat has made the natural jump from being a manufacturing hub to a consumption hub in this case.
The state leads in rooftop solar countrywide and has accounted for as high as 80% share of new capacity additions in the rooftop in some months recently. One hopes other states will learn from the state’s example, especially in rooftop solar, for that has the potential to not only create many more jobs but also provide a strong domestic market for the manufacturing capacities coming up across the country, which will struggle to find ready takers in the utility-scale segment initially in Intersolar 2021.