INDIA Sufia vFinal DR 17/6/08 09:10 Page 20
Semiconductor India
with a combined investment in the range of solar grade wafers and SPV modules with billion), KSK Energy Ventures ($800
$5 billion. Now, six months later, there is an capacity of 1 GW, with an investment of $3 million), and Signet Solar ($2.4 billion).
impressive list of 12 companies that have billion. Reliance is experimenting with a
submitted proposals or have plans to do so. pilot project in Maharashtra where it is “The proposals received are for
Total investment runs to over $12 billion. electrifying 84 villages with solar power. manufacture polysilicon, wafers, solar cells,
solar photovoltaic modules (SPV) liquid
With the current pace of 20 per cent annual “In the next 8-12 months, pilots will be crystal display (LCD), integrated circuits
growth, experts expect India’s solar sector launched in 38 villages in Maharashtra. advanced logic, memory and embedded
to emerge as the fourth largest generator of These will not be connected with the grid system on chip, including ATMP facility for
solar energy after Germany, Japan and and the solar ecosystems will provide power semiconductor devices,” Ramesh said.
China in the coming years. to these villages,” RIL Chairman and
Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said With this, the Government has now received
India’s solar market currently consumes during a recent press conference in a cumulative investment commitment of
about one per cent of the world’s Mumbai. Although Reliance has the largest almost $15 billion from six companies,
photovoltaic products. Total domestic operations in India in the petrochemical under the scheme to promote semiconductor
installed photovoltaic capacity is in excess sector, its entry into the semiconductor fabs and micro and nanotechnology units.
of 100 MW cumulative. industry spells out a whole new world in the
photovoltaic marketplace. The heady rush towards
PV manufacture
Moser Baer PV on the other hand, is an India has long been trying to attract global
early entrant in this domain and today it chip giants to set up manufacturing units
aims at leveraging its high volume and Intel once seemed a serious contender.
manufacturing expertise to become India’s But it backed out due to demands from the
leading PV player. Its 80 MW fully government. Moreover there was no sign of
automated in line crystalline silicon cell any policy guidelines or subsidies coming
manufacturing facility (40 MW already in through either at that time.
production) is going to be scaled up to 240
MW. A 40 MW module manufacturing Although the policy was announced in
Players in India facility is also being expanded to 200 MW. February 2007, the guidelines were
About 18 companies are setting up plants in “We have set up the largest solar farm in announced in September and the current
the country and about half of them in India and our 200 MW thin film module investment is partly the result of the
Andhra Pradesh, most of them in the Fab plant, capable of producing the world’s semiconductor policy under which the
City project being developed under the largest non flexible thin film modules is Government would provide incentive of 20
public private partnership initiative of the already under construction and will start per cent capital expenditure during the first
Andhra Pradesh Government shipping in mid 2008,” says Ravi Khanna, 10 years for the units in SEZs and 25 per
CEO MBPV. cent of the expenditure in non SEZ units.
Topping the list of investments is Reliance
Industries, India’s largest listed company, This is just the tip of the In India, the 5th largest oil consumer in the
which is setting up a semiconductor wafer photovoltaic meltdown. world using about 2.66 million barrels/day
fabrication plant and solar PV module unit According to Jairam Ramesh, the minister and with its energy demands set to double
with an investment of $7.5 billion spread of state for Commerce and Power, proposals by 2030, the mantra is “ create energy while
over the next ten years. This would be in worth about $6 billion of investment have the sun shines” and generate solar. Five
two parts, one would be the establishment been submitted and there are about another years back, capital expenditure for solar
of a semiconductor wafer fab with $6 billion in the pipeline. Some of the energy generation used to be $7 million for
Assembly, Test, Mark and Packaging companies that have announced their plans one MW. The reason being the sun to
(ATMP) facility would involve an to the government are Videocon Industries electricity conversion (which uses two types
investment of $4.5 billion and the second ($2 billion), Moser Baer PV Technologies of technologies - polysilicon crystalline and
project aims at manufacturing polysilicon, ($1.5 billion), Titan Energy System ($ 1.5 thin film) were both highly expensive. In
20 www.semiconductor-india.com | Summer 2008
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44