Barriers and strategies for emergence of India as a solar photovoltaic technology hub

Barriers and strategies for emergence of India as a solar photovoltaic technology hub: A Technological Innovation System study to accelerate the diffusion of matured sustainable energy technologies by formation of technology hubs

AMANAGANTI, Sushanthreddy (TU Delft Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)

Kamp, L.M. (mentor)
Ortt, J.R. (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Electrical Engineering | Sustainable Energy Technology

2021-08-26

The goal of India being a solar PV hub implies that the country needs to evolve as the center of activity for the development and deployment of solar PV technology. This includes activities like R&D, product design, testing, engineering, manufacturing, and assembly. But in addition to the developed technology, there needs to be enough opportunities for deploying it in a commercial market. Considering the need for capacity building, sustainable energy sources and possessing huge solar potential, massive manufacturing and human resources, India has an important role to play in the solar industry in the coming decade. In addition to this, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the trade relationship with China which is an important exporter of solar PV components. These factors provide a great opportunity for India to evolve as a global competitor for development and deployment of solar energy.
For India to emerge as such a solar PV technology hub, it needs to engage in several activities ranging from technology development, market formation, policy development and others. Scientists and researchers have established that such technological developments or transitions cannot be studied as an isolated concept, but it is part of a larger ‘Innovation system’. The Technological Innovation System (TIS) approach provides a holistic framework focusing on technical, economic, policy, and socio-cultural aspects to nurture a new innovation. However, the current TIS framework is focused on the early stages of the technology life cycle and on how to make them successful in the niche and bridge markets. Whereas in the current case, solar PV is a well-matured technology and India being a hub or a market leader need accelerating large scale diffusion and needs to face competition from global players. For a country to emerge as a market leader in such a technology, it needs to engage in activities that are focused on building competence on par with global market leaders and take steps for large scale diffusion. The current thesis addresses this scientific knowledge gap by developing a new conceptual framework focused on the matured phase of TIS and on activities that will allow a region/country to emerge as a global competitor through formation of technology hubs. The author conceptualized the new framework called 'Factors of TIS acceleration' catering to the processes that a matured TIS needs to engage to compete with global players and diffuse in large scale. These processes include, 'Building competitive advantage', 'Integrating complementary innovations’, ‘Expanding market reach and ‘Overturning incumbents’ that are essential in advancing a particular TIS. This new framework is then applied to the case of solar PV in India to evaluate if the country can emerge as a solar PV technology hub in the next decade.

Solar photovoltaic
Technological Innovation Systems
Technology hub
Matured sustainable energy technologies
Sustainable Energy Technologies
India
Innovation
Technology transition
Sustainable transition

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:875897bb-8409-495e-9403-7dfa4048c4fb

Student theses

master thesis

© 2021 Sushanthreddy AMANAGANTI