Industries in Tamil Nadu look to install Solar Panels as Government makes Solar Power generation mandatory

Industries in Tamil Nadu are looking to invest in solar panel arrays for their factories and offices as the Government has made it mandatory for HT customers to buy/generate solar power for 3% of their requirements in 2013 which will go up to 6% by 2016. While some companies are complaining about the high cost of solar energy installations, some foreign auto majors like Nissan, Daimler have started to invest in solar panels. Note for some companies solar energy makes sense given the massive power cuts being seen in TN. Besides installing solar panels gives green brownie points to these companies which are major polluters, courtesy their carbon emitting products. Daimler Chrysler is planning to use solar modules to power its logistics warehouse which is coming up in TN while Nissan Renault plans to use solar heater and solar panels to supply energy to its offices.

Tamil Nadu is taking aggressive steps in Solar Energy. Tamil Nadu has a strong renewable energy policy framework and industry. Tamil Nadu has been preparing a solar energy policy for quite some time and has finally come out with a comprehensive policy which touches a number of subjects. Note Tamil Nadu is the biggest renewable energy state in India and accounts of almost 40% of the country’s wind power capacity. The strong growth has been due to the support given by the government which has made it the de facto wind capital of India. The state also has a vibrant wind manufacturing industry in the state with some top wind energy companies having their factories in Tamil Nadu. Note opportunistic investors had already anticipated this policy and bought large parcels of land in Tamil Nadu’s sun belt which gets over 300 days of sun a year.

The previous success of Tamil Nadu in the wind energy sector makes the implementation of the 1000 MW a year target for 2013 -2015 look achievable. While the rest of the states announce ambitious policies for green energy,their implementation track record makes one doubt their claims. However Tamil Nadu is one of India’s most industrialized and fast growing states. Like Gujarat, the state’s governance structure and implementation record is much better relative to other states. So when TN announces a solar policy, solar companies around the world should take notice.

Read about the New Solar Energy Policy in Tamil Nadu.

Hindu

Automobile manufacturers are slowly warming up to the Tamil Nadu government’s solar policy.

Truck maker Daimler India Commercial Vehicles is planning to set up a logistics warehouse with inbuilt solar panels at the company’s plant in Oragadam, Chennai. And Nissan is planning to power its offices in the country with solar energy.

“With Tamil Nadu being abundant in solar energy, we welcome the State Government’s move to make use of natural resources. Our other plants globally too make use of solar energy for sustainable business,” said Florian Laudan, Head, Corporate Communications, Daimler India.

Read About Solar Panel Arrays on GWI.