India, in the next five to six years, is set to add more than 10 giga watts (gw) of solar photo voltaic power every year, experts said on September 3. The past three years have seen more than 1 gw added to the grid in the country, SunEdison South Asia Managing Director Pashupathy Gopalan said.    He said that the cost of a solar panel has decreased from more than $2 to less than 70 cents. There is room for reduction in prices, he said. Solar power had achieved grid parity for commercial customers and in some cases was even cheaper.    

Gopalan was speaking in Bengaluru recently at the inaugural session of Solarcon 2012, an exhibition and conference showcasing the Solar PV sector in Karnataka. The event held from September 3 to 5. India will be one of the world’s biggest markets for solar power, he added.    

At the exhibition, other speakers were of the opinion that various government subsidies on solar photo voltaic production as well as trade barriers stood in the way of companies wishing to play a greater role in the Solar PV sector in the country.    

Vice-president of SEMI Bettina Weiss said that while innovation will continue and the markets will grow, companies are finding it tougher to survive due to uncertainties. Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said that the state aims to add 200 mega watt of solar energy by the year 2016.    

International Finance Corporation (IFC) expressed an interest in funding the state’s solar projects. Anita M George, IFC Director for Infrastructure in Asia said that around $200 million of the total $500 million IFC has financed in the solar PV sector is from India.