The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) on Tuesday invited applications from solar module manufacturers for availing the Centre’s Rs 4,500-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. The beneficiaries of the PLI scheme will be selected through competitive bidding and the evaluation of the bids will be done on the basis of manufacturing capacity proposed to be set up by companies and the extent of elementary products required for manufacturing solar panels they promise to make in the country.
The Cabinet had cleared the scheme on March 31. The applicants are required to set up either brownfield or greenfield manufacturing facilities allotted under the scheme, but will not be eligible for PLI if they have imported the required capital goods for setting up the plants. The PLI rate for brownfield projects will be 50% of the rate for greenfield projects. The last date for submitting application is June 30 and the letters of award will be issued to the successful applicants on July 30. Manufacturing units which have availed benefits under the modified special incentive package scheme (M-SIPS) programme of electronics ministry will not be eligible PLI.
Closely following the solar PLI announcement in March, Tata Power Solar Systems put on stream additional 400 megawatts (MW) of module and cell manufacturing capacity, taking the total capacity to 1,100 MW. Gautam Solar has recently doubled the panel manufacturing capacity to 250 MW at its Haridwar facility and Hyderabad-based Premier Energies has invested Rs 430 crore to increase its module manufacturing capacity to 1,500 MW per year from its current base of 500 MW. ReNew Power will also develop a 2 giga-watt (GW) solar cell and module manufacturing facility in Dholera, Gujarat.
The scheme can facilitate additional 8-12 GW annual solar cell/module manufacturing capacity in India, and can directly benefit just 8-13% of the solar equipment requirement till FY30, India Ratings had pointed earlier this month. As on date, the 3 GW of cell manufacturing units and the 10 GW of domestic solar module makers have to import most of their components from outside.