Apropos “Sunshine sector loses sheen as foreign competition looms” (August 16), the glut of solar equipment from China, though likely to spell disaster for some domestic equipment manufacturers, augurs well for the future of solar power in India. With the huge shortage of natural gas and coal, power plants fired by gas and coal are operating far below capacity. The cost of solar power, on the other hand, has dropped to Rs 7.50 per unit from nearly Rs 18 a couple of years ago and compares well with the cost of power from non-renewable sources, which is about Rs 6 per unit. It is well known that Chinese equipment manufacturers are heavily subsidised by their government and if that brings down the cost of solar power per unit in India, so be it. To ensure that domestic equipment manufacturers are also able to compete, our policy makers can subsidise them by giving them some amount, say, Rs 2 per unit from the Rs 7.50, that is recovered from consumers instead of allowing inefficient distribution companies to pocket the entire amount.
R Vishvesh Mumbai
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