Tata Power Solar doubles solar cells, modules manufacturing to 1.1 GW

Energy major Tata Power Solar’s Bengaluru unit has doubled its manufacturing capacity of solar cells and modules to 1.1 GW. Tata Power Solar told the media that the expansion resulted from increased demand that the company witnessed for its solar modules. Tata Power has expanded its manufacturing capacity of cells from 300 MW to 530 MW with Mono PERC and modules from 400 MW to 580 MW with Mono PERC half cut technology. This assumes significance given that along with leveraging its growing green energy market to boost manufacturing, India is looking to play a larger role in global supply chains. India has a domestic manufacturing capacity of only 3 GW for solar cells and 15 GW for solar modules. The PLI scheme for solar PV modules is expected to add 10,000 MW of integrated solar PV manufacturing capacity and bring direct investments of about Rs 17,200 crore. The domestic manufacturing plan for solar equipment has gained traction, with 15 companies considering total investments of around Rs 22,000 crore to develop solar equipment manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru. Chinese firms dominate the market for solar components. India imported Rs 15,768 crore worth of solar PV cells, panels and modules in 2018-19. The PLI schemes were first announced last year to create global manufacturing champions in India by removing sectoral bottlenecks and creating economies of scale to create complete ecosystems for components. In February this year, the government invited global firms to take advantage of the Rs 1.97 lakh crore worth of PLI schemes for 13 market sectors and expand their manufacturing in India. The PLI scheme for solar PV modules comes in the backdrop of India's decision to impose 40% basic customs duty on solar modules and 25% on solar cells from 1 April 2022, a move that would make imports costlier and encourage local manufacturing. Chinese solar module makers have raised prices by over a fifth since December. Recently, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved production-linked incentives (PLIs) worth Rs 4,500 crore for solar PV modules. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has also issued an order enforcing a list of approved solar PV models and module manufacturers for government-supported schemes, including projects from where distribution companies procure electricity for supply to their consumers. Image Source Also read: Solar installations in India reach 40 GW milestone Also read: Customs duty on solar imports from April 2022