Govt plans swadeshi solar cells, ingots and, polysilicon: Pralhad Joshi

India has crossed 100 GW of solar module capacity with ALMM, which is now extended to solar cells and will soon cover ingots and polysilicon, said Pralhad Joshi

After introducing the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for boosting domestically produced solar modules, the government has recently introduced ALMM for solar cells, and the initiative will soon be expanded to cover ingots and polysilicon as well, Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday.

 

He was speaking at the State Review Meeting on Renewable Energy. “We have already crossed 100 GW of swadeshi module manufacturing capacity through ALMM. With that we have now started similar planning for swadeshi cells, ingots and even polysilicon,” Joshi said.

 

He also said that the government had introduced the ₹24,000 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for solar modules to boost local manufacturing and so far a total of ₹50,000 crore has been invested under the scheme. The country’s module manufacturing capacity has already crossed the 100 GW mark.

 

“Our total solar power equipment manufacturing capacity was 2.4 Gigawatt (GW) in 2013. Today it is 130 GW. Similarly, 21 GW capacity in wind has now become 52 GW. I recently met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with wind energy developers and we have received the assurance that all the issues will be resolved for capacity creation,” Joshi said.

 

He said the country’s installed non-fossil fuel-based power generation capacity has reached 250 GW and the government is committed to increasing it further to 500 GW in the next five years.

 

Joshi also informed that significant progress has been made in the rooftop solar sector and urged states to help in additional capacity creation under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY). “I have approved the file for a new policy under the utility-led model for rooftop solar installations under the PMSGMBY scheme. It will increase installations from the existing 20 lakh to 50 lakh within a month,” he said.

 

He called upon the states to take steps to address three key issues hurting the growth of the solar industry: land availability and clearances, Right of Way (RoW) issues, and delays in signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) by discoms.