This is a piece of information given by an US government site about the renewable energy potential in India and the opportunities available for the US market to enter Indian renewable energy market. The site says, although a few U.S. companies have market presence in India, industry experts feel that U.S has played a minimum role in tapping opportunities in this sector. There are projects for development that U.S. companies should consider if they are keen to enter the Indian market. Sub-sectors that continue to show a high growth rate and are expected to drive the RE market is briefly discussed below:
Solar Energy: The scope of generating power and thermal applications using solar energy is promising. Only a fraction of the aggregate potential in renewable resources and in particularly solar energy is being used so far. Processed raw material for solar cells, large capacity SPV modules, film solar cells, SPV roof tiles, inverters, charge controllers etc., have good market potential in India.
Biomass Energy: In a country like India, biomass holds considerable promise as 540 million tons of crop and plantation residues are produced every year, a large portion of which is either wasted, or used inefficiently. Conservative estimates indicate that even with the present utilization pattern of these residues and by using only the surplus biomass materials, estimated at about 150 million tons, about 17,000 MW of distributed power could be generated.
Hydro Projects: With numerous rivers and their tributaries in the country, the small hydro sector presents an excellent energy opportunity with an estimated potential of 15,000 MW. About 10 percent of this has been exploited so far. In order to accelerate the development of small hydropower in the country, the GOI also provides concessions for existing hydro projects including financial support for renovation, modernization and capacity upgrading of aging small hydro power stations.
Energy from Wastes: The rising piles of garbage in urban areas caused by rapid urbanization and industrialization throughout India represent another source of non-conventional energy. Good potential exists for generating approx. 15,000 MW of power from urban and municipal wastes and approx. 100 MW from industrial wastes in India.
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Biofuels: The GOI recently mandated the blending of 5 percent fuel ethanol in 95 percent gasoline in 9 states and 4 union territories as of January 1, 2003. This mandate has created an approx. 3.6 billion liter demand for fuel ethanol in the entire country, and also further increase in the fuel ethanol component of the blend to 10% as of October 1, 2003. The significant demand growth creates a tremendous manufacturing opportunity for the U.S. fuel ethanol industry seeking to expand its investments internationally. A substantial import of fuel ethanol will be necessary to supply the product required to meet the burgeoning demand created by the currently effective GOI mandate.
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