Ascent Solar Technologies Inc said it signed an agreement with The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), India, to test the company’s solar modules and evaluate its economic feasibility.
Under the agreement, TERI will test Ascent’s copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) modules, which convert sunlight into electricity, to see if they can be used for TERI’s projects including “lighting a billion lives.”
TERI’s “lighting a billion lives” campaign seeks to replace kerosene and paraffin lanterns with solar devices.
Upon evaluation of technical and economical feasibility, TERI and Ascent Solar will decide on terms and conditions and the implementation model.
India’s drive to ramp up solar capacity may trigger a stampede of firms from Asia, Europe and North America, chasing a share of the $3.5 billion of business up for grabs by 2013 and trampling over smaller domestic players.
First Solar and Suntech Power Holdings are working on plans to enter the market as India commits to an ambitious $70 billion program to build 20 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity by 2022, from about 30 megawatts (MW) now.
Wednesday’s news comes two weeks after Ascent said a Berkshire Hathaway unit would test its modules at a facility in Colorado, and a month after it signed a deal to distribute its modules in China.
Ascent shares, which have more than doubled in the past two months, closed at $4.29 Tuesday on Nasdaq.
