India’s Solar Module Manufacturing Capacity To Touch 60GW: Report

India's Solar Module Manufacturing Capacity To Touch 60GW: Report

A latest report from rating agency ICRA claimed that Indian solar module manufacturing could rise up to 60 Gigawatt (GW) by 2025. This is in contrast to the country’s current capacity of around 37 GW. The boost in the local solar module, as per the report, is likely due to the increased backward integration of wafers and solar cells. 

The forecast came at a time when the Indian government has been mulling to strengthen the norms under the Approved List of Module Manufacturers (ALMM) scheme for the Indian solar module makers. The Union Power Minister RK Singh recently announced that the government would soon allow the empanelment of only those Indian module manufacturers who could make solar cells locally. 

The ICRA report said that the policy support from schemes and steps like Production-Linked Subsidy (PLI), ALMM and imposition of Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on the imports of foreign-origin solar cells and modules could propel the growth of local solar module manufacturing in the country. 

The report expected that in the next three years, the backward integration of the solar module manufacturing process could bolster the local manufacturing capacities. As per the report, the solar cell capacity in India could rise from the existing 6 GW to 25 GW by 2025. However, as per the researchers, the entry of polysilicon, a prime raw material for the production of solar cells, could take a longer time, leading to the dependence of Indian manufacturers on foreign players for its supply. 

Solar module manufacturers also claim that India cannot become truly “Atmanirbhar” (self-dependent) unless backward integration is ensured with local production. In a recent interview with Saur Energy, Rahul Bhutiani, Chief Marketing Officer from Adani Solar said that Adani Solar would be one of the few Indian players to start production of solar cells, wafers, ingots and even polysilicon to ensure a complete ecosystem of module manufacturers by 2027. 

Others claimed that solar cell manufacturing in India is still a challenge. Shravan Gupta, Managing Director at Cosmic PV, a Surat-based module manufacturer, recently told Saur Energy that only a few players are making solar cells locally currently. 

“There are few players in India which are making solar cells and many of them are making it for their captive use. Only a few are selling it in the open market,” he said.