NEW DELHI: Moser Baer India Ltd, manufacturer of removable optical storage media, has announced its entry into the high-growth photovoltaic (PV) business.

PV technology converts solar energy into electricity directly. The company would use the crystalline silicon technology to manufacture solar cells.

According to Moser Baer executive director Ratul Puri, “We plan to make an aggressive entry into the PV business by manufacturing solar cells and modules. We are targeting a capacity of 80 MW by 2007. The project, with an initial project cost estimated to be Rs 260 crore, will be executed by a new wholly owned subsidiary company.

Moser Baer would invest Rs 112 crore in the new venture, while the balance would be financed from lenders in the form of short and long term debts.”

He added that the company is targeting revenue of $500-600 million by 2008 from the PV business. The commercial production at the new facility is expected to start in Q3, 2006.

Elaborating on the potential of PV business, Moser Baer India CMD Deepak Puri said, “The PC space is expected to grow five fold to a global market size of Rs 1,35,000 crore by 2010. This new field of business is synergistic with our existing businesses and will leverage on our core competencies in the areas of precision high technology mass manufacturing, thin-film coating and project management.”