PROPOSED PV SOLAR CELL MODULE MANUFACTURING PROJECT IN INDIA

Present scenario in India: The Solar energy sector in India is witnessing unprecedented activities. With
the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of Government of India announcing the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), the interest in the sector has gone up and new opportunities are
presenting themselves for anyone wishing to enter this industry.

One such opportunity is the Solar PV module manufacturing in India. The JNNSM guidelines stipulate
that all the grid connected Solar PV plants in India coming under the scheme will have to use Solar PV
modules that are made in India. That translates to the solar module demand as follows.

Phase 1 (2010-2013): 500 MW

Phase 2 (2014-2017): 2000 MW
Phase 3 (2018-2022): 7500 MW

In addition some of the state governments have their own Solar Policies. A total module demand of about
1300 MW is expected in the next two years alone(2011-2012). This is not considering the demand for off-
grid applications like Solar lanterns, Solar street lighting and various other applications. However the total
PV module supply from India is between 700 MW and 1000 MW. Even though the existing players are
ramping up their capacities, there will enough local demand for lot of capacity addition in this segment.

Our proposal for commissioning the PV solar cell module manufacturing project

In the present scenario, we intend to go as follows with this project:

Phase 1: We will import the solar cells from our Joint Venture Partner and distribute in India for local
manufacturers of all type of solar products.

Phase 2: We want to put up a solar PV module manufacturing project which presents an affordable
business opportunity in India and to us. For your information a solar PV module manufacturing project
costs about $150,000 per MW in India as estimated by the Government agencies. Therefore a solar
module protection offers an exciting opportunity.

Phase 3: We intend to venture into solar paneling as the next stage.

.. Strength of the project:

The majority of the modules produced in India so far catered to the export market.

A PV module production unit can be compared with a Small and Medium size enterprise (SME) and
there are various financing options like debt financing

.. Opportunity for the project:

With the announcement of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission in 2010, India is poised for a big
take off in the installation of solar energy. The JNNSM target of 20 GW of installation by 2022 and also
proactive policies from states like Gujarat are the key drivers for the growth of the solar sector in India.

In India, there is about 1.4 GW of module manufacturing capacity and this is expected to increase in
the future since the solar PV segment is one part of the entire value chain where the barriers to entry is
relatively low.

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.. Risks envisaged:

While there are several risks in the PV module production business, the major risk is the market risk and
competition from other PV module firms. Moreover, globally the Solar PV sector is driven by favorable
policies of different countries. In the absence of regulatory support, there can be a drop in demand for the
modules which affects the growth of the venture. This can be reduced by cost effective production
methodology and competitive pricing of the modules. With the support of the JV Partner and with their
experience in the solar field we can overcome this risk.

What we need from the Joint Venture Partner for this PV solar cell module manufacturing project?

1. Whether the solar technology will be crystalline silicon technology (monocrystalline or

multicrystalline- as per our knowledge multicrystalline is preferable in India due to its low
cost technology) or thin film technology or both. There is excellent opportunities for
both type of technology in India.

2. We came to know that PV solar cell module manufacturing is a fairly straightforward

process and the skill sets required from the workers is not very high. The various
process equipments to be provided by a single turnkey line provider i.e., our Joint
Venture Partner which includes – Supply of solar cell (any type), cutting machine, cell tester,
soldering table, EVA / TPT cutting, lay up table, laminator, carrier, mending station, framing
machine, sun simulator, module tester for producing solar cell module. Please ask the JV
Partner to indicate the level of automation envisaged for this PV solar cell module
manufacturing project along with the details of the machineries required with their pricing to
work out the project cost.

3. Land requirement for the proposed solar PV module production and working capital
requirement for this proposed project. Entire work force required( Managerial, supervisory,
both skilled and unskilled labour) for this project. These data’s has to be provided by the JV
Partners.

4. Modules, inverters, battery, charge controller, computer controls (with software) will be
supplied by the JV Partners – information required in this regard from them.

5. We need the JV Partner to take 25 – 30% share in the total project cost and involve in
erection, commissioning, production, training of local work force and quality evaluation.

We will highly appreciate your feedback and answer from the JV Partners to proceed further.

Date: 21.02.2012

Place: Coimbatore, India.

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