India is considering various measures including extension of price preference to domestic suppliers to curb the use of imported equipment in national solar mission projects.
The government is contemplating changes in the equipment sourcing policy ahead of the bidding for the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) programme (2013-17), which is expected to draw investments of R1.08 lakh crore.
Sources said senior officials from ministries concerned like new and renewable energy, power and finance as well as the Planning Commission met last week to discuss changes in existing bidding guidelines for solar mission projects. The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) will soon seek feedback from financial institutions, project developers and equipment manufacturers, besides NGOs on proposed changes.
Significantly, this comes at a time when the country is facing a legal challenge from the US and the European Union at the WTO over the mandatory domestic content requirement for sourcing of solar photovoltaic (PV) gears for solar mission projects.
Government is alarmed at the surge in import of thin-film equipment that cost less but also have lower efficiency compared with solar PV technology. Globally, the share of thin-film equipment is 12-13%, but it is estimated at 70-80% in the JNNSM projects.
The move is aimed at levelling the playing field for solar PV equipment vis-?-vis thin-film technology-based equipment. Free import of thin-film equipment seems to be a disincentive to the development of domestic manufacturing capacity, with the sole Indian manufacturer, Moser Baer, stopping production of equipment.
?The government is likely to be neutral on technology for solar mission projects,? said Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary, MNRE. ?Bringing thin-film solar modules under the domestic content requirement would help level the playing field for solar PV equipment manufacturers,? said Prasanth Sakhamuri, chairman, HHV Solar, a Bangalore-based company.