Solar Module Makers to Go Local, Government Says (Image: Pixabay)

Stricter norms for local materials for makers of solar modules could settle in. The Government could bring in an alternative for the major ingredients such as solar cells for the solar module makers, which is currently being imported by the makers. This move would lead the Indian manufacturing companies of solar modules to have all integrated facilities.

At an event in New Delhi, the Power and Renewable Energy Minister Raj Kumar Singh stressed upon the plan for localisation of manufacturing, the moneycontrol reported. The integration process would have everything fully local, from polysilicon to modules, the minister said. The domestic companies would be provided with enough time to build up their capabilities for this, the minister said, adding that, the import curbs would be initialised in a couple of years. More of local manufacturing would be promoted after the initial round.

During the pandemic, India had undergone disruptions in this section. Earlier, India was importing 85 percent of the needed materials but now, India has new plants. The move for building local materials of solar components came after the pandemic. India is sill dependent upon the other countries for the hardware needs of the solar modules. Materials such as wafers for the manufacture of solar modules are imported.

In 2022, the government had brought in a policy aimed at discouraging imports. Through this, a basic customs duty of 40 percent was imposed on solar modules and 25 percent on cells were pushed, along with an “approved list of models and modules,” to aid in developing local module-manufacturing capacity, the moneycontrol said.  With this, the Indian companies exported with better margins, leading to local solar project developer’s facing high duty and limited availability in local markets. As a response to this, the government initiated a temporary relief on imports of modules, which brought in inflows of incoming shipments.

Apart from the thrust on manufacturing locally, there is emphasis also on bringing in improved efficiency. A plan has been unveiled by the Ministry of Power to introduce labels indicating efficiency levels for buyers so that they could make an informed choice. As of now, the labelling is not mandatory but voluntary, but this would be made mandatory in a couple of years, the minister had said.

Currently, India imports major part of its cells for solar panels. The solar panel making process includes many stages such as polysilicon from beach sand to ingots, ingots to thin disc’s known as wafers, then to cells which are the key parts of the solar modules.