Tesla, the American electric vehicle giant, is reportedly planning to penetrate the rooftop solar panel manufacturing industry in India amid the government’s $9 billion (Rs 75,000 crore) free electricity scheme.
Tesla seeks local partners for the project
Tesla has started to look for potential local partners to aid in its planned rooftop solar panel production in the world’s most populous country, Livemint reports, citing a person aware of the matter.
Tesla’s selected partner for the project will manage the production and installation of the rooftop solar panels, while the Musk-led company will take care of the technology and marketing.
As per the unnamed sources, Tesla has already reached out to Indian officials about its new project proposal to seek potential subsidies and other grants.
Solar business
As we already know, Tesla operates not only as an automotive business but also as a home power product manufacturer based on solar power and batteries.
For instance, its Solar Roof revolutionized traditional thatched roofs with photovoltaic tile replacement. Meanwhile, its Powerwall serves as a battery power storage unit.
However, its solar deployment experienced a 59% year-on-year decline from 100MW to 41MW in the US in the December quarter.
That said, it is unsurprising that Tesla is now seeking growth opportunities in other potential markets like India. Moreover, the Indian government offers incentives to boost its rooftop solar panel manufacturing industry.
India’s free electricity scheme
India’s overall rooftop solar capacity deployment reached 11.1GW as of December, per Icra Ltd.’s Senior VP and Group Head of Corporate Ratings, Girishkumar Kadam. Commercial and industrial users accounted for the majority of these installations. Nonetheless, residential capacity still reportedly surged to 2.7 GW.
Unfortunately, it fell short of the government’s target of 40 GW capacity by 2022.
“However, the installed rooftop capacity fell significantly short of the 40GW target that the Union government had set by the year 2022.”
Girishkumar Kadam, Icra Ltd.’s Senior VP and Group Head of Corporate Ratings
In an effort to boost the country’s rooftop solar capacity deployment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the “Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana” on February 13. It primarily aims to install rooftop solar projects for 10 million households. Each household is expected to generate a maximum of 300 units of electricity monthly, enabling them to save money from electric bills.
The program could potentially generate 20-25GW of demand for local solar module manufacturers, given that it is exclusive to domestically-produced solar modules. According to Swarajya, the government’s investment in the free electricity scheme costs $9 billion (Rs 75,000 crore).
All that said, it would be indeed strategic for Tesla to venture into India’s rooftop solar panel manufacturing industry. However, what’s more anticipated from the American company is its long-planned electric vehicle factory in the country. As of now, it seems that Tesla and India are still in talks regarding the proposed Gigafactory in India.
