Velankani Group to Build $3.2 Billion Silicon Manufacturing Complex in India
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 07. 2.08
Aerial view of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, site of Velankani Renewable Group’s new manufacturing complex. Photo via Wikipedia.
A well-timed announcement can be a thing of beauty. Just days after Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh said that solar energy would be a key point in his new climate plan, Bangalore-based Velankani Group announces that it will be constructing a new manufacturing complex for silicon compounds and solar cells.
Plant to be Built in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Visakhapatnam, located on India’s eastern coast in the state of Andhra Pradesh, will be the site of Velankani’s new 150 acre facility. The cost of this new plant is expected to be almost INR 140bn (US$ 3.2bn) and will create 10,000 new jobs. Velankani’s subsidiary firm, Velankani Renewable Group will be in charge of the facility.
Construction is scheduled to begin in August, and is expected to take seven years to fully complete. At the end of this time the facility will have the capacity to produce 500 million silicon wafers, 1.5 GW of photovoltaic cells, and 1.5 GW of photovoltaic modules per year. The facility's first silicon products are expected to begin entering the market in October 2009.
Kind of makes yesterday’s news about Ausra’s new factory in Las Vegas seem puny in comparison, as indirect as that comparison may be.
via :: MSN India
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Am I wrong or is this amazing for that whole supply arm of the solar industry? Too bad it's not an american leader standing behind this move. It's quite the juxtaposition. Bush comes out for more oil and "nukular" power and the Indian prime minister comes out for increased solar production. It's a very shameful time to be American.
Unlike stradric, I have no inherent objection to nuclear as an interim measure. If solar isn't adopted as quickly as we'd like (along with wind and a bit of geothermal), I'd far prefer a nuclear world to a coal one. Still, I agree solar i where its at, and will be for the next several billion years.
So for India and humanity, woohoo! I can't wait for events like this to become so common they stop being news.
The world consumes, on average, 15 terrawatts of power (primary energy from all sources). To get that all from electricity, some electricity will need to be converted to more transportable fuels, but I believe efficiency increases will offset the inefficiencies of producing such a fuel... they already even out with hydrogen. If solar cells last 30 years, then we need to be producing a minimum of 500 GW worth of cells (average output, not peak wattage) per year to meet current world energy needs, more for future demand growth.
Further up and further in!
It's amazing what a country that isn't beholden to oil companies can accomplish. It's apparent that the USA was only innovative because the innovations were mutually beneficial to the symbiosis that is government and corporate. Now that innovation is moving away from the embedded corporatocracy, it is being stifled as it is obviously bad for business (i.e., the status quo).
More like "USA? LOL!! India"
We are setting up a polysilicon plant and silicon ingot and wafer plants in India.
Details can be seen on our website http://www.polysilicon.in
Mail: solar@polysilicon.in