RIL, Adani Group, 17 others bid for solar module manufacturing PLI scheme
- 15 firms considering total investments of around $3 billion for solar equipment manufacturing units
- RIL and Adani Group have bid for manufacturing 4 GW of polysilicon and cells and modules
Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Adani Group and US- headquartered First Solar are among the 19 firms that have bid for setting up solar manufacturing units under the government’s production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, according to two government officials aware of the development.
RIL, Adani Group, First Solar, Andhra Pradesh-based Shirdi Sai and Jindal Poly have bid for manufacturing polysilicon (stage-1), wafer (stage-2) and cells and modules (stage-3 & 4). State-run Coal India Ltd (CIL), ReNew Energy Global Plc., CubicPV and Larsen and Toubro have bid for manufacturing wafer and cells and modules.
In addition, Avaada Energy Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (Meil), Vikram Solar, Tata Power, Acme Solar, Waaree Energies, Premier Energies, Emmvee Group and Jupiter Solar have bid for manufacturing solar cells and modules.
An Avaada Energy spokesperson in an emailed response confirmed the firms’ participation in the bids.
In an emailed response, a CubicPV spokesperson said, “Yes, we can confirm that we applied to the PLI, covering stages 2-4.
A spokesperson from the ACME group also replied, “ACME Group has participated in the recent bids for PLI scheme for solar equipment manufacturing.”
PLI schemes, unveiled last year, seek to create global manufacturers in India by removing sectoral disabilities and creating economies of scale to develop complete component eco-systems in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February invited global firms to take advantage of the ₹1.97 trillion PLI schemes for 13 sectors and expand their manufacturing in India.
While bids totalling 19 gigawatt (GW) were received for manufacturing polysilicon, wafer, and cells and modules manufacturing saw bids of 32 GW and 54.80 GW respectively. The domestic manufacturing plan for solar equipment has gained traction with 15 companies considering total investments of around $3 billion to build solar equipment manufacturing facilities here, as reported by Mint earlier.
“The bids are being evaluated,” said one of the two government officials cited above requesting anonymity.
This ₹4,500 crore PLI scheme for solar photo voltaic modules will help India ramp up its domestic manufacturing capacity. The scheme is expected to add 10 GW capacity of integrated solar PV manufacturing plants and bring direct investment of around ₹17,200 crore. Along with leveraging its growing green energy market to boost manufacturing, India is also looking to play a larger role in global supply chains.
Polysilicon is the building block for solar PV manufacturing from which ingots are cast.
These bids have been called by state-run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA). The minimum capacity of the manufacturing unit to be installed is 1 GW with the PLI to be disbursed to successful applicants annually over a period of five years.
Queries mailed to the spokespersons of IREDA, RIL, Adani Group, First Solar, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd, Vikram Solar, Waaree Energies and Premier Energies on Wednesday afternoon weren’t immediately answered.
Shirdi Sai, Jindal Poly, Emmvee Group and Jupiter Solar couldn’t be reached.
While RIL, Adani Group, Shirdi Sai, and Jindal Poly have bid for manufacturing 4 GW each of polysilicon, wafer, and cells and modules respectively; First Solar has bid for manufacturing around 3 GW each of polysilicon, wafer and cells and modules respectively. Also, CIL, ReNew, and Larsen and Toubro have bid for manufacturing 4 GW each of wafer, and cells and modules respectively; with CubicPV having bid for manufacturing 1 GW each of wafer, and cells and modules.
A CIL spokesperson said, “The bids are being examined. Once, the techno-commercial part part is scrutinized the financial bid will be opened.”
Also, the bids for manufacturing solar cells and modules have been placed by Avaada Energy (3 GW), Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (2 GW), Vikram Solar (3.6 GW), Tata Power (4 GW), Acme Solar (2 GW), Waaree Energies (4 GW), Premier Energies (2 GW), Emmvee Group (1 GW) and Jupiter Solar (1.2 GW).This interest also comes in the backdrop of India’s electricity demand increasing, with India’s peak power demand recording a high of 200 GW mark.
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Business NewsIndustryEnergyRIL, Adani Group, 17 others bid for solar module manufacturing PLI scheme
First Published:22 Sep 2021, 11:48 PM IST
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