Tesla has been in talks for weeks to establish a new electric car factory in India to produce a car priced at about $24,000, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is directly supervising the talks. But there has been no news yet about efforts towards renewable energy sources.
In recent talks in New Delhi, Tesla representatives said they would bolster the country’s battery storage capabilities with a system called “Powerwall” that could store energy from solar panels or the grid at night or during power outages, sources told Reuters.
Although Tesla sought several incentives to set up a battery storage plant, Indian officials said they were not available, one of the sources said. However, they added that the government could help the company develop a fair business model by providing support to buyers of these products.
Although both Tesla and the Indian government continue to support the proposal, and New Delhi continues to investigate it, it is not certain that the plan will come to fruition.
The proposal to manufacture Powerwall is part of the US company’s plans for a broader presence in India beyond electric cars, the second source said, adding that Tesla wants to find residential and industrial customers for its battery storage systems. Tesla’s intention is to have its Powerwall business present in India as well, the source said.
Coal supply problems last year left India facing its worst electricity crisis in more than six years, while delays in expanding coal and hydropower capacity have increased the risk of overnight blackouts when solar power is not available. The country intends to increase its energy capacity from non-fossil energy sources from the current 186 gigawatts to 500 gigawatts by 2030.
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