Mumbai/Pforzheim/Freiburg, October 21, 2016 – 12,000 visitors, 800 conference attendees and 240 exhibitors: October 21 marked the end of the hugely successful eighth Intersolar India, India’s largest exhibition and conference for the solar industry, which was held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. The number of visitors was 10% higher than at the previous year’s event, and the number of exhibitors increased by an impressive 20%. The positive development of the Indian solar market was noticeable at the exhibition. Businesses and investors made the most of the opportunity to network, and numerous agreements and collaborations were initiated. The organizers also reported positively on the conference, where around 800 attendees discussed India’s solar industry with 122 speakers.
Since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared energy a top priority, the Indian market has been showing great momentum. By 2022 the country aims to achieve an installed photovoltaic capacity of 100 gigawatts (GW). At the conference session titled India’s Emerging Domestic Market – A Reality Check, Priyadarshini Sanjay of Mercom Communications stated that the capacity is currently at 8.6 GW. According to the consultancy firm Bridge to India it is at 23 GW when projects currently under construction are included. So the country has ambitious goals, and the atmosphere in India is one of radical change. This year Intersolar India gave the industry a significant boost and offered the perfect opportunity to discuss upcoming steps, opportunities and challenges.
Intersolar India was officially opened by Dr. Robert Habeck, Minister of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Areas for the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. He praised the development of India’s renewable energy industry and emphasized that exhibitions like Intersolar India help to achieve ambitious goals, as they act as an industry platform and bring together all of the key stakeholders.
