India prepares roadmap to cut reliance on China in solar manufacturing inputs

New Delhi: India’s new and renewable energy ministry is finalizing a roadmap to develop a local ecosystem to manufacture wafers, ingots and polysilicon in the country, used to make solar power cells and modules.

Addressing a review meeting with states on renewable energy, Union minister for new and renewable energy Pralhad Joshi said that the Centre has prepared a trajectory for indigenous manufacturing of wafers and ingots and is in the process of preparing a similar trajectory for local polysilicon manufacturing. He also asked states to make efforts to provide land and boost the solar equipment manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

In recent years, India has built over 100 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity, alongwith a growing base for solar cells, as part of its effort to develop a domestic renewable energy supply chain. To achieve backward integration, the government is now focusing on setting up facilities for critical sub-components such as wafers, ingots, and polysilicon, which are still largely imported from China.

“Planning has already started for indigenous wafers, ingots and indigenous polysilicon too,” he said at the event in New Delhi.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, Joshi said: “Trajectory for wafers and ingots has already been prepared and is being finalized. For cells, 2026 is the target. For polysilicon we are in the process of finalizing the trajectory.”

The statement comes at a time when the industry is gearing up for the implementation of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for cells starting June next year. With its implementation, all module makers in the country supplying to government-backed projects will have to use only locally-made cells, which are mentioned in the list.

Last month, the minister announced that a total of 100 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity has been developed and included under ALMM.

As of June-end, domestic cell capacity stood at 27 GW, requiring imports to meet a majority of India’s cell demand.

Already, a production linked scheme is underway to support the solar equipment manufacturing in the country. The scheme largely focuses on modules and cells.

₹50,000 crore investment milestone

Joshi noted that so far about, ₹50,000 crore has been invested in the country’s solar equipment manufacturing sector.

Stressing the need for distribution companies to procure green power, the minister cautioned that capacity addition must be complemented by effective utilization, and urged states to expedite renewable purchase obligations (RPO), power purchase agreements (PPA), and land allotments in a transparent manner.

“Timely action is the backbone of this system. If we keep delaying procurement on the expectation that tariffs will fall further, we are missing the bigger picture”, the minister said.

He called upon states to strengthen the ease of doing business in the renewable sector by adopting single-window clearance systems, reducing compliances, and resolving right of way and law-and-order issues faced by developers. He stressed that investor confidence hinges on proactive facilitation by state governments.