Lanco Solar CEO V. Saibaba has stated that he thinks solar power costs in India could come down 40% by 2015, which would make solar cost-competitive with other energy sources even without subsidies correcting for the social costs of dirty energy.
Due to the growing solar market for solar and technological development, the rupee per kilowatt price of solar is projected to drop from 11-12 to 7-8. “The most important thing is the economics of scale are coming,” Saibaba told Reuters on the sidelines of a solar industry conference. “In the next three to four years, I see the solar power costs coming down to 7 to 8 rupees a unit.”
India, one of the world’s largest polluters (in total, not per capita or per GDP), has a plan to invest $70 billion in solar by 2022, reaching 1,300 MW by 2013 and 20,000 MW by 2022.
The projected price trends and cost-competitiveness are comparable to worldwide projections. It’s pretty a common expectation that in 3-5 years — even without any accounting for the trillions in dollars dirty energy costs the world each year in social, environmental, and health problems — solar will be completely cost-competitive. In such a world, unless the rich dirty energy industry convinces politicians to give them even more than the billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies it gets every year, solar will continue its explosive growth around the world.
“Given the current scenario with the way it is growing and the way costs are coming down, our industry will probably not require any financial support from the state going forward in maybe three to four years,” Saibaba said.
Check out more on India’s solar (and wind) energy projects and plans here.
Solar panels in India via Ajay Tallum
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