Mumbai, October, 2014 - International Copper Association India (ICAI), a part of Copper Alliance in association with SMA India organised a special workshop on 'Sustainable Solar Solutions for companies with large energy needs' in Mumbai. The objective of the seminar was to create awareness for facilitation of faster decision making towards Solar Power Systems in India.

This workshop was addressed by a panel of dignitaries comprising Mr Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director, ICAI, Mr Virendra Kumar Gupta, Chief Manager, Renewables ICAI, Piyush Kumar, SMA-India and Vinay Rustagi, Managing Director, Bridge to India. The event witnessed a large gathering from solar system and component manufacturers, solar system integrators and other industrial units across India who actively participated in the interactive sessions.

India is currently facing a major challenge of power shortage, which is invariably affecting the production targets and interrupting continuous manufacturing processes. The cost of power back up systems, mainly the diesel generators, varies from Rs 15/- to Rs 30/- per unit. However, with technological advancement, this can be drastically reduced to Rs 7/- per unit with use of solar power. According to a recent research by International Energy Agency (IEA), solar power could become the world's largest source of electricity by 2050 as the solar photovoltaic plants may provide around 16% of global electricity. The report also states, that the explosive growth in solar installations will be driven by further price drops. The cost of electricity from photovoltaic projects will fall by an average 25% by 2020, 45% by 2030 and 65% by 2050.

Commenting on this occasion, Mr Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director, ICAI said, "Maharashtra is home to vast range of industrial establishments starting from micro units to very large units. It is imperative to have a steady power backup for such units. With the new government's plan to provide 24x7 electricity supply, solar energy offers technologically feasible and economically viable alternative. The modular concept helps to design solar power plants to meet tailor made requirements of all sizes of industrial units. This further benefits to increase overall production efficiency and automating the standard processes thereby reducing cost-per-unit".

The workshop also highlighted latest trends in Solar PV technologies along with the regulatory framework supporting solar energy in India. International Copper Association India (ICAI) has been very active in the field of promotion of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy.

International Copper association India is a member of Copper Alliance and the Indian arm of the International Copper Association, the leading not-for-profit organization for the promotion of copper worldwide. The International Copper Association Ltd (ICA) is the leading organisation for promoting the use of copper worldwide.