Reliance, Tata, First Solar bid for PLI phase 2 subsidies, Adani ‘notably absent’

Reliance Industries, Hyderabad-based Shirdi Sai Electricals and the US-based First Solar bid for India’s phaser 2 solar Production Linked Incentive (PLI) of ₹19,000 crore subsidies, including ₹12,000 crore for end-to-end PWCM manufacturing, or sand-to-module manufacturing projects. ₹4,500 crore have been allocated for safe-cell-modules and ₹3,500 crore to cell modules. Maximum allocation is for the most cost-intensive part of the chain, Polysilicon Manufacturing, where India has no manufacturer currently and it is dependent on Chinese products, reported Saur Energy. Reliance, Adani and Shirdi Said were also the winners of Phase 1 PLI scheme with ₹4,500 crore of subsidies. IREDA was the nodal agency for Phase 1, while SECI has been appointed as nodal agency for the Phase 2 of the PLI scheme. Other bidders in Phase 2 are Tata Power solar, Vikram Solar, Ware Energies, ReNEw Solar, Avaada, JSW, Ampin, and Green Energy. Adani is “notably absent”, the portal reported. 

Centre exempts developers from acquiring modules only from ALMM list for one year

Solar projects commissioned by March 31, 2024 ,will now be exempted from procuring modules listed under ALMM (Approved List of Modules and Manufacturers). The government suspended the 2019 and 2022 orders mandating ALMM for one financial year. Earlier, India’s power minister had said that the domestic manufacturing capacity was insufficient to cater to the large planned solar capacity additions, and the national solar targets of 280 GW by 2030. Power minister RK Singh said he had expanded the solar project bidding so much that domestic supply could not meet the demand. Even then, a recent IEEFA report pointed out that India is not bidding enough to meet its RE targets. Developers were missing their deadlines because of domestic short supply and 40% basic Customs duty on solar imports, which made the cheaper Chinese modules economically unviable. =

China, meanwhile, complained against India’s ALMM mandate at the WTO saying the law that bars Chinese equipment was a trade barrier. China’s complaint comes days after India suspended the ALMM mandate by one financial year. China raised the issue for the fourth time when WTO members were discussing standards and ethical regulations that could contribute to addressing climate change challengers. 

Domestic supply shortage: 95% of Indian solar equipment export was to the US in 2022

Meanwhile, Indian domestic manufacturers of solar equipment made a record profit from its exports to the US, even as developers faced equipment crunch at home making the costs rise. Indian exports recorded a 321% rise amounting $561. 6 million, 95% of which was exports to the US. India has become the top supplier of modules after the US banned Chinese modules over the issues of forced labour law in Uyghur province. The US also imposed sanctions on Chinese products after investigations revealed that China was bypassing the US duties by shifting their assembling base to south-east Asian countries. Mercom reported that exporting solar modules and cells to the US was more profitable for domestic manufacturers than selling them in India. This has raised concerns that the shortage in supply was raising the prices in India. 

Tata Power to build 510-megawatt wind-solar hybrid project in Delhi

Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL) signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Tata Power Delhi Distribution (Tata Power-DDL), for 510 MW hybrid project. The project will save on an average of 1540 MUs of CO2 emissions annually for Tata PowerDDL, a joint venture between Tata Power and Govt. of Delhi, that supplies electricity to a populace of over 7 million in North Delhi, the Business Standard reported. The newspaper reported that the PPA has the capacity bifurcation of 170 MW solar and 340 MW wind power. Located in Karnataka, it is one of the largest hybrid projects in the country and will be commissioned within 24 months from the PPA execution date. Tatas won this project through a competitive bidding process, followed by the release of LOA by Tata Power-DDL.

EC to introduce market reforms to boost solar uptake to meet 240 GW by 2030 target

The European Commission will reform its Green Deal Industrial Plan (EU’s electricity market) to stabilise RE prices across the EU and boost the uptake of renewables to help European solar manufacturers get a level-playing field with other countries. EC will reform the Electricity Regulation and the Electricity Directive and the Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) Regulation to incentivise longer-term contracts with non-fossil power production. The reforms will reflect the lower cost of renewables to boost the installation rate of solar PV as the EU aims to deploy 740GWdc of solar PV by 2030, as part of its REPowerEU strategy released last year.

Kadri Simson, EU commissioner for Energy, said: Driving investment in renewables will help us reach our Green Deal goals and make the EU the powerhouse of clean energy for the coming decades.

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