Import Restrictions On Solar PV Cells:
Recent government orders on attempts to increase local sourcing of solar modules to support India’s renewables manufacturing ecosystem has been widely reported in the media as import restrictions.
- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE), on March 29 ordered to re-implement its 2021 notification of an ‘Approved List of Models and Manufacturers of Solar Photovoltaic [PV] Modules’, also called the ALMM list.
Approved List of Models and Manufacturers of Solar Photovoltaic [PV] Modules:
- This list consists of manufacturers who “are eligible for use in Government Projects/Government assisted projects/ projects under Government schemes & programmes including projects set up for sale of electricity to the Central and State Governments.”
- While the government did not give an explicit reason for this, it has been reported that it stems from concerns and demands of renewable power producers who had secured sale contracts with the government before these rules were issued, when solar modules and cells were overwhelmingly imported from China at highly competitive rates.
- India’s domestic renewables sector, at the time, was unlikely to meet the spike in demand for solar power production equipment at rates offered by Chinese manufacturers.
- The government’s re-introduction of this rule has been premised on the estimation that following measures, such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, India’s domestic sector has boosted its production capacities and bettered price competitiveness to meet local demand.
