The Center has set a June ’26 deadline for solar companies to adopt India-made solar cells

Representative iamge | Photo credit: Reuters

In a move to discourage foreign import of components used in manufacturing solar panels, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set a deadline of June ’26, after which solar companies will have to use only India-made solar photovoltaic cells in their panels. To participate in government procurement programs.

“As the installed capacity of solar PV cells in the country is expected to increase significantly in the coming year, it is proposed to issue List-II of solar PV cells under ALMM, which will be effective from 1 June 2026,” the office order says. from MNRE released earlier this month.

‘List -II’ refers to the list of companies manufacturing solar cells. Indian solar companies mainly rely on solar cells from China and Southeast Asia. However, depending on domestic supply, solar energy is likely to be expensive.

Schemes like the Rs 75,000-crore PM Rooftop-Solar programme, PM Kusum programmes, which pay the cost of installing solar panels to urban and rural consumers, must source panels from indigenous companies approved by the MNRE.

“The price of Indian solar cells is 1.5 times to double the price of Chinese solar cells even after basic customs duty. Such high prices can increase the capital cost of solar power projects by Rs 5-10 crore per megawatt. This increases the charge by 40-50 paise per unit,” Sehul Bhatt, Director-Research, CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics said in a statement.

So far, 92 GW of solar has been installed in India. Currently India has installed solar-module manufacturing capacity of about 63 GW and solar-cell manufacturing capacity of about 5.8 GW. Government and industry estimates expect 80 GW of module capacity addition by 2027 and an investment of Rs 30,000 crore in cell manufacturing capacity of 60 GW by FY27.

Earlier this year, MNRE introduced a list of approved list of module manufacturers. Those who want to set up solar installations and receive government subsidies will have to get modules from these manufacturers only. The listings are part of a larger government strategy to encourage domestic production of solar panels, although India still lacks the capacity to manufacture components used in cells, such as wafers and ingots, and will depend on China and Southeast Asia for that. Adani Group has set up a 2GW wafer-manufacturing facility in Gujarat and expects to be India’s first ‘integrated manufacturing’ company by 2027 – meaning it will make every component needed to make complete photovoltaic panels.