Moser Baer India has announced that it expects its solar unit, Moser Baer Photo Voltaic, to dominate the business within five years as demand for clean energy in India outpaces that of DVDs and Blu-rays. “Growth in photovoltaics dwarfs our main business,” said chief financial officer Yogesh Mathur. “The industry is growing at a rate of 40 to 50% and we may grow even faster if we’re able to take up our capacity.”
India has set a target of generating 20,000MW of solar power by 2022 as it seeks to meet demand for electricity and reduce emissions blamed for global warming. However, U.S. sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs fell by 12-13% in 2009, according to Adams Media Research.
Growth in India is expected to drive Moser Baer’s transition amid expectations that installed solar capacity will begin surging, increasing 20-fold to 2,000MW in the next four years. “The Indian market is taking off,” said Mathur. “We can clearly see sitting here that we’re in the midst of a market that has huge potential.”
“The economy, piracy and competition from social media and other forms of entertainment such as video games have crimped DVD sales”, Robert Iger, chief executive officer of Walt Disney said in February 2010.
The New Delhi-based company plans to complete its 5MW solar farm in the southern state of Tamil Nadu by the end of September.