The Central Electronics Limited (CEL), a public sector enterprise of the government of India, has invited expression of interest (EoI) from interested parties to set up manufacturing facility in the country for the production of crystalline silicon solar PV modules (Conventional/Flexible) and  solar cells under the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

CEL intends to expand its manufacturing capacity to reduce the current prices of solar cells in the Indian market and make these components financially viable. It also wants to expand the solar value chain by manufacturing silicon wafers and ingots in the future.

According to CEL, any financially and technically capable foreign PV manufacturers can submit documents to enter in to strategic alliance or joint venture (JV) for setting up a minimum of 100 MW solar PV modules capacity.

Pre-submission meeting will take place on June 20, 2018. Last date for the submission of application is June 25, 2018.

According to the company, CEL was the first Indian company to develop crystalline solar cells and modules in 1977-78 and has a 50-acre production facility in Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Earlier this month, CEL tendered 100 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects to be developed across Maharashtra. The bid-submission deadline is June 20, 2018.

In April 2018, it issued another tender for the supply of 100 MW of grid-tied central solar inverters with all the necessary accessories along with five years on-site warranty and another five years of maintenance service.

Mercom has previously reported that indigenous module manufacturing capacity is expected to be over 8 GW with operational capacity of around 5-6 GW, which is not sufficient to meet the goal of installing 100 GW of solar by 2022 set by Prime Minister Modi.

In calendar year (CY) 2017, the Indian solar sector imported solar modules and cells totaling nearly $4.12 billion (~₹269 billion), a 43 percent increase from the $2.88 billion (~₹194 billion) recorded during the preceding year.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, India’s installed solar capacity stood at 22.8 GW by the end of March 2018.