American Capital Energy, MSM Energy Form India Solar Joint Venture

11th Jun 2010 14:11

NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--U.S.-based American Capital Energy Inc. and MSM Energy said Friday they have set up a joint venture to build and service solar photovoltaic systems in India, taking advantage of the country's plans to use more renewable energy sources. The company, ICE Solar, will start operations immediately and aims to install 100 megawatt of solar photovoltaic systems, which directly convert sunlight into electricity. The company didn't specify when it would reach this target or if it had any orders in hand. Madhav Muvvala, president of MSM Energy Holdings--a unit of New Jersey-based MSM Industries Inc.--said the joint venture will capitalize on India's National Solar Mission that has a target to generate 20,000 MW of solar energy by 2022. The companies didn't mention how much their investments into ICE Solar were or the sizes of their stakes in the venture. Tata BP Solar, a joint venture between Tata Power Co. Ltd. and BP PLC, also makes solar panels in India, as does Moser-Baer Photo Voltaic, a unit of Moser Baer (India) Ltd. According to data from research firm Frost & Sullivan, India's current photovoltaic systems manufacturing capacity is about 1,000 MW. But this capacity is insufficient to meet the targets of India's solar mission, necessitating a huge ramp up in capacity by local manufacturers and the entry of foreign players. -By Eric Yep, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-11-4356-3304; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 11, 2010 09:11 ET (13:11 GMT)