India’s Siemens foray into solar photovoltaic plant biz

Thursday, 15 December 2011 00:50 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Siemens Ltd, the Indian unit of Germany’s Siemens AG, said on Wednesday it will foray into engineering, procurement and construction solutions (EPC) business for solar photovoltaic plants in India.

The engineering firm has already executed 160 MWp solar projects the world and more than 1,200 megawatts of equipment supply for solar projects, it said in a statement.

“The Indian market is critical for us as it is one of the fastest growing renewable energy market places in the world today,” A.K. Dixit, chief executive, energy sector, said in the statement.

India plans to build an initial capacity of 1 GW of solar power by 2013, enough to power close to 1 million homes. It would then add 3-10 GW by 2017, and hopes to grow that to 20 GW by 2022.

The country has so far commissioned solar projects with capacity of about 186 megawatt, of which 40 MW worth of off-grid projects were commissioned in 2011.