Excellent learnings from BR concall: https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/2bd78784-0fb5-4f53-8a44-b10f69f0881f.pdf
Every answer is a gem if one wants to learn about the industry.
- Sustenance and growth of solar glass manufacturing in India will depend largely upon the levy of duties on imports of solar glass.
- In the USA, there is no solar glass production as of now. In Europe, we are the only ones who
are producing. And in India, now we have 5 players and the 6th one will be coming. So, besides
the Chinese domain, these are the only players who are producing solar glass. The Chinese are
controlling almost 97% of the world’s solar glass production between say China, Vietnam, and
Malaysia. They have some plants in Vietnam and Malaysia and that’s all-Chinese plants. So,
most glass production is controlled by the Chinese. - When our customers import glass into India, there is no duty whereas if we export glass to China, there is a 21% duty. So, the Chinese have increased their production capabilities and capacities by imposing restrictions, whereas in case of India, we are staying away from it. Now, unless we create a certain situation in which the glass industry can become economically prosperous and create the capacity, which is world-class in that sense, their costs will not get optimized. It is a chicken and egg situation that you don’t impose duties and ask the industry to come up. That’s not going to happen because unless there is a sufficient return on equity or return on investment, nobody will put the money.
- Government has to take a stand that to create
a local capacity in solar glass which is a very important part of the solar value chain, there may
be some pain in the cost, and the pain is not very high because the solar glass in solar module is
a very small percentage and the cost of increase in power price by levying certain duty on solar
glass is hardly 1 or 2 paisa in a power cost of Rs. 2.50 or Rs. 2.60, which the bidders are bidding. - We already have 5 players in action today. And the 6th one is on the cards. In another 4 or 5
months, he will come into production. As against the 1,000 tonnes per day that Borosil is doing,
we have about 1,300 tonnes already extra and another 300 tonnes coming up. So, altogether,
India will have a capacity of 2,600 tonnes which will be nearly balancing the quantum of
modules that are expected to be made in India. Now there is no capacity constraint, and we have
a large enough industry with 5 to 6 players. Reliance will be on top of that. If Reliance comes
up, there is another 2,000 tonnes per day we believe that they are going to do. That will mean a
lot of glass in the country. And the Government, I think, would not really want to shut their eyes
to this situation. - 5,000 tonnes per day should be the demand alone for the solar PV sector.
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