The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)’s tender for setting up manufacturing capacities for vertically-integrated high-efficiency solar modules under the production-linked incentive (PLI) program received a strong response from the bidders.

The tender was oversubscribed by 5.48 times, according to Mercom sources.

The bidders quoted a total capacity of 54.8 GW for polysilicon, ingot-wafer, cell, and module manufacturing.

For a complete vertically integrated facility including polysilicon, ingot-wafer, cell, and module manufacturing, the bidders quoted 19 GW capacity. Reliance New Energy, Adani Infrastructure, Jindal India Solar, and Shirdi Sai Electrical accounted for 4 GW each. First Solar India bid 3 GW capacity.

The bidders quoted 15 GW for ingot-wafer, cell, and module manufacturing capacity. Of this, Coal India, Larsen and Turbo, and ReNew Power bid for 3 GW each. CubicPV (formed by the merger of 1366 Technologies and Hunt Perovskite Technologies) bid 1 GW capacity.

For solar cell and module manufacturing, the bidders quoted 22.8 GW of capacity. Of this, Tata Power Solar and Waree Energies accounted for 4 GW capacity each. Vikram Solar and Avaada Energy quoted 3.6 GW and 3 GW capacity, respectively. Acme Solar, Premier Energies, and Megha Engineering bid for 2 GW each. Jupiter Solar and Emmvee PV quoted 1.2 GW and 1 GW capacity, respectively.

IREDA invited bids to set up 10 GW of high-efficiency solar module manufacturing capacities. The tender followed the Union Cabinet’s approval to implement the PLI program to achieve gigawatt-scale solar module manufacturing capacity with an outlay of ₹45 billion (~$605 million).

In November last year, the Union government said it would allocate ₹1.45 trillion (~$19.65) billion for ten critical sectors over the next five years under the PLI program. The sectors include high-efficiency solar photovoltaic modules, advanced chemistry cell batteries, and automobiles and auto components.

India targets 100 GW of solar installations by 2022 and has a longer-term target of deploying 450 GW of renewables, with Solar making up 280 GW of that goal. Cumulative solar installations stand at 43 GW, requiring solar to be installed at a rate of approximately 26 GW a year until 2030. However, solar capacity additions heavily depend on imported solar cells and modules. The domestic manufacturing capacity is about 2.5 GW for cells and 9-10 GW for modules.

Mercom is hosting a virtual conference, “Mercom Solar Forum 2021,” on October 21. The Forum has an exclusive session, “Moving Towards a Domestic Manufacturing Base With Sustainable Demand.” The discussion will revolve around the feasibility of the domestic manufacturing initiative, market opportunity, and the plans of stakeholders to establish a market within the country and export opportunities. Companies with manufacturing plans will talk about the growth forecast and investments.