India must boost solar manufacturing amid China export curbs: Solex chief

The government needs to incentivse domestic production of solar equipment to avoid any supply crunch amid China's proposed curb on exports of key technologies of photovoltaic module manufacturing, a senior industry executive said.

China has proposed restricting exports of 12 key technologies that are used to make solar equipment, citing the need for close monitoring as these technologies are also used in aerospace, defence and other sensitive sectors.

According to Chetan Shah, Chairman and Managing Director of Solex Energy, China controls an estimated 75-90 per cent of the global solar supply chain.

If domestic cell capacity does not come up on time, the result could be a supply crunch for solar modules, project delays and pressure on tariffs, Shah told PTI.

 

He noted that as of June 2026, India had about 262 GW of module manufacturing capacity and only about 37 GW of cell capacity.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Renewable Energy India (REI) Expo 2026 in Greater Noida, Shah said that the country's ingot-wafer capacity was estimated at 2 GW and polysilicon nil.

To tackle any supply crunch situation, Shah suggested that the government should extend its order related to ALMM-II, a framework which mandates sourcing of made-in-India cells from an approved list of module manufacturuers (ALMM).

"In this scenario, on behalf of the industry, I request the government to extend the timeline of ALMM-II by at least 12 months and include all types of solar projects in its order. This will allow local players to fulfil their orders and simultaneously help manufacturers to set up cell capacities," he said, adding that the ALMM frameworks are an encouraging initiative of the government to support Make in India.

Simultaneously, the government should engage with other nations, including the US and EU, to secure alternative sources of equipment and technology to phase out the local solar industry's dependence on China, he said.

Besides, he said, the government can launch a mission or an initiative for solar equipment manufacturing.

India should support domestic manufacturing of critical PV equipment, spares and consumables through a dedicated PLI (production-linked incentive) or capital subsidy, partnering with Indian capital-goods companies, CSIR labs and IITs, he said, adding that there is also a need to pursue government-to-government technology partnerships.

Shah said India should use its frameworks with the US, EU, Japan, Korea and Taiwan to secure alternative sources of equipment and process technology. The government can hold diplomatic engagements with China, as orders already contracted and under execution should be protected.

"On one hand, the industry is gearing up to put up cell manufacturing lines; on the other hand, China's proposal is creating pressure for us.

"Another issue is that there is a huge gap between module and cell capacity in India. Of the installed capacities, most of them are of old MONO PERC technology and several capacities are also non-operational," Shah said.