Govt cuts application fee by 80% to enlist in approved list of solar models and manufacturers

The Centre reduced the application fee for enlisting in the approved list of solar Models and Manufacturers by 80% compared to the previous fee. The validity of the list has also been increased from two to four years. This is expected to attract domestic photovoltaic module manufacturers and ramp up the production to cater to demand. 

The application fee has been set at ₹500 (~$6.08)/MW for the solar module manufacturers having a total installed production capacity less than or equal to 50 MW/year, Mercom reported. If the application consists of multiple models, an additional fee of 1% of the application fee for the first model for every additional model will be applicable.

For total installed capacity of more than 50 MW/year, an application fee of ₹1,000 (~$12.16)/MW of the total installed capacity of solar modules and cells will apply. For multiple models, the applicable fee will increase by 1% for every additional model. Further, if the applicant is already enlisted in the ALMM list, then the application fee for every new model will be 10% of the application fee for the first model and 1% of the application fee for every new model, Mercom report added. 

Govt to launch new scheme to promote distributed renewable energy equipment

The Centre plans to launch a new scheme to make distributed renewable energy equipment cheaper, power minister RK Singh said. “We need large-scale manufacturing and standardising of distributed applications of RE,” he said. India has a large programme on rooftop solar and solar irrigation, and now it will scale up programme for distributed renewable energy products. “If a family wants to own a solar dryer, they should be able to get financing from the banks—we will work towards it. Manufacturers and users of DRE for livelihoods are pioneers and now the government will scale it up to the next level,” he added.

According to government data in India, solar-powered pumps have the maximum deployment potential, followed by solar-powered vertical fodder growing units and solar dryers. Collectively, these four technologies alone can impact around 27 million livelihoods. 

IEEFA & JMK research: India could become the world’s second-largest solar photovoltaic manufacturer by 2026

india is set to become the second-largest PV manufacturing country after China, finds a new joint report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research & Analytics. In the next three years, India will produce 110 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) module capacity, the report said. 

According to the report, India’s cumulative module manufacturing nameplate capacity more than doubled from 18 GW in March 2022 to 38 GW in March 2023. The Centre’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme helped spur the growth of the entire PV manufacturing ecosystem in India, including the development of a market for PV ancillary components, such as glass, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and backsheets, said the report’s co-author Jyoti Gulia, Founder, JMK Research.

The PLI scheme is expected to increase 51.6 GW of module capacity and at least 27.4 GW of integrated “polysilicon-to-module” capacity in India in the next three to four years, the report said. The domestic content requirement (DCR) for solar power in projects such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) Scheme and the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme also strengthened domestic manufacturing. 

One of the key steps taken by the government to boost demand for domestic solar PV modules was the introduction of the Approved List of Module Manufacturers (ALMM) in 2019. The report noted that even after applying higher basic customs duty (BCD) on imported modules, the cost differential compared to domestic modules is negligible.

EU to quantify carbon footprint of solar modules used in the region

The European Commission proposed a maximum limit of carbon footprint of solar modules to be used in Europe through a regulation termed as Ecodesign Directive, which is a method to quantify the carbon footprint of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules used and manufactured in the EU region. The Ecodesign Directive will ensure that the PV modules and related materials have been sourced, manufactured, used, and disposed of in an environmentally sensitive manner, reported Mercom.

The Commission wants to ensure that the newly installed photovoltaic modules used in the EU are affordable, competitive, and environmentally friendly. The new method will calculate the carbon footprint of PV modules in the manufacturing and shipping phases following a cradle-to-gate approach, which includes a lifecycle assessment hotspot analysis, which will be used to identify the areas with the most environmental impacts through the lifecycle of a PV module. The analysis will cover the usage of water and other resources used during the manufacturing and operational life of the modules.

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