ALMM

Falling solar equipment prices, bulk module orders, and an expansion in domestic solar manufacturing capacity are driving a solar boom in India. The government can add further impetus if it tweaks domestic content rules.

After years of debate, the Indian government made domestic manufacturing a central feature of renewables policy in 2021. The pivot came as the government sought economic growth and self-sufficiency following a border conflict with China. Vinay Rustagi, managing director of Bridge to India, says that trade barriers, subsidies, lower taxes, and demand growth have created the perfect recipe for expansion.

Solar Energy Corp. of India Ltd (SECI) is accepting bids from solar manufacturers in India to supply 1 GWp of PV modules built with domestically manufactured solar cells. Bidding closes on August 17.

Large capacity addition in solar modules by 15-20 players is likely to drive domestic solar glass demand, say CRISIL analysts in an interview with pv magazine. New players have expressed interest to set up solar glass manufacturing in India, however, import duty removal last year on solar tempered glass has put them in a wait and watch mode.

India will install around 20-25 GW of new renewable energy capacity annually over the next two fiscals, driven by a healthy project pipeline and a strong bidding roadmap. The decline in solar module prices and one-year relaxation for the approved list of module manufacturers (ALMM) bode well for the capacity addition.

Timely scale-up in tendering activity and moderation in solar PV cell and module prices, if sustained, would support improvement in capacity addition in the renewable energy sector.

India added 518 MW of new open-access solar capacity in the Jan.-March period of 2023, compared to 308 MW installed in the previous three months.

After a record-breaking 14 GW addition in 2022, India’s annual utility-scale solar deployment will slow down in 2023 due to lower awarded capacity in 2022 and supply-demand mismatch for high-capacity modules, says a new report by The International Energy Agency (IEA).

India reached a cumulative installed rooftop solar capacity of 9.3 GW as of March 31, 2023, with the addition of 485 MW in Q1 2023.

ICRA expects India to add 16 GW of solar power generation capacity, 2 GW of wind and another 2 GW from hybrid projects in FY2023-24.