Even as India has witnessed rapid growth in installation of renewable energy capacity in the past few years, a shortage of solar modules continues to cast a cloud over the sectors’ growth prospects, said stakeholders at the Mint Sustainability Summit 2023.
Speaking at a panel discussion on ‘The Future of Clean Energy in India: A 500GW Vision’, Mohit Bhargava, CEO, NTPC Green Energy noted that domestic solar module manufacturing capacity is now close to 20-25 GW, but the supply chain is still dependent on Chinese imports for products like cells and wafers. He added that given the concerns on continuing imports, the Centre has rolled out the second phase of the production linked incentive scheme for solar modules, which would support the entire value chain from cells to modules.
In the backdrop of shortage of modules, Neeraj Menon, partner, Trilegal stressed on the need to further extend the deadline for implementation of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM). Earlier this year, the Centre kept the decision to implement ALMM on hold till March 2024, but Menon says the industry’s ask is that it should be extended further. ALMM is a list of models and manufacturers of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules approved by the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE).
Sanjay Aggarwal, president, Fortum India was of the view that given the global nature of the renewable energy supply chain, India cannot remain isolated at a stage when its renewable growth story is picking up. He noted that although India is adding to its module manufacturing capacity, cells, a key component for modules still is imported China.
“The heart and soul of the module is the cell, and it still comes from China, which we are trying to replicate here," Aggarwal said. He added that while India has taken steps to set up module manufacturing capacity in the past couple of years, it would take some time for the whole manufacturing ecosystem to develop.
And while solar power developers may be facing challenges in terms of raw material supplies and high import cost, Rambabu Paravastu, chief sustainability officer, Greenko, said India can take a lead in newer technologies in the green energy space including energy storage and green hydrogen, and that efforts should be made to grow the domestic manufacturing ecosystem for these new-age sectors, which would have ample demand going ahead.
“The make-in-India moment is when I go to storage technologies. And moreover, when you go to hydrogen, will you be able to put up electrolyzers in India?" The Greenko executive added that the ambitious decarbonization targets of India provide an opportunity to the country to produce affordable, reliable and clean energy.
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Updated: 29 Aug 2023, 12:30 AM IST
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