Moser Baer ramping up solar power biz

MUMBAI: Moser Baer Photovoltaic, the solar photovoltaic cell manufacturing arm of optical storage disk maker Moser Baer, is in the final stages of discussions with a few state governments to set up a greenfield manufacturing facility.

The company, which is adding capacity to produce 500 MW of solar power by 2010, expects $1.5 billion in revenues from the solar energy segment.

“We are in the final stages of discussions for a new unit. A decision is expected shortly,” chief executive Ravi Khanna said. He didn’t comment on the possibility of the plant being located in the multi-billion dollar Fab City being planned in Andhra Pradesh, as has been the buzz.

The company, which currently has capacity for 40 MW, is doubling it by the first quarter of the next fiscal. By the turn of the decade, it would have capacity for half a billion giga watt of solar power, for which it would have invested close to $1 billion.

On fundraising, Khanna said since the facilities would be coming up in phases, a large part of the required capex would be met through internal accruals. “These are early days for external fundraising and we have all options before us,” he said.

In order to push for a greater penetration, the company is mulling forward integration by entering into solar farms. “We are talking to governments for major installation. For solar farms, we believe that selective regional participation would be the best strategy for scalability,” Khanna said.

The company is also investing in research and development (R&D) to develop nanotechnology-based products like quantum dots which can be used in exterior paint to power buildings.

“In two-three years, nanotechnology would be a significant source in solar energy. We have a three-pronged R&D strategy. One is our corporate R&D team which has 600 engineers working on optical media, photovoltaic and other things.

Then we have 100-plus engineers in Moser Baer Photovoltaic. And thirdly, we have invested in R&D centres abroad which gives us access to latest technologies,” Khanna said.

Having faced margin pressure in its core optical storage devices, Moser Baer diversified into solar energy a few years ago and is investing heavily in the sector. It has a facility in NCR (National Capacity Region) and is also setting up a renewal energy SEZ (special economic zone) there.

Khanna said solar energy is a fast-growing sector, with the global market size reaching $12-15 billion by 2010 from about $4 billion expected this year. “We expect India would be a significant player though the cumulative capacity is 100 MW currently,” he said.