India will only make local solar energy components mandatory from 2026
Indian clean energy companies will only be able to use locally built solar panels from June 2026, according to a government order apparently aimed at reducing Chinese imports.
Leaders in India’s clean energy sector, including companies from conglomerates Reliance Enterprises and Tata Power, rely on Chinese suppliers as their key suppliers.
According to industry estimates, as much as 70 percent of India’s solar power generation capacity is powered by Chinese equipment.
Indian companies are already legally required to use locally made solar panels in government projects.
The new rule stipulates that only modules made from locally built photovoltaic cells, which convert light energy into electricity, can be used in projects with a bid deadline after Monday’s order.
“This condition will have to be adhered to irrespective of the date of commissioning,” the order issued by the Indian Ministry of Renewable Energy said.
The government is yet to announce the list of approved solar cell manufacturers as “the installed capacity of solar cells in the country was lower than demand”.
But “as the installed capacity of solar cells in the country is expected to increase significantly next year”, a list of approved manufacturers will now be released, the order said.
The Indian solar manufacturing space has seen rapid progress in recent years.
Solar panel production in the country is expected to reach 95 gigawatts by the end of 2025, according to a report by Bengaluru-based consultancy Mercom India.
According to the same report, India added 13.3 gigawatts of solar energy production capacity in the first half of 2024.
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