Its All About Power Sector

"Domestic Content Requirement" was emphasized in Phase II of JNNSM so as to encourage domestic manufactuirng capabilities for solar energy. Solar Energy Corporation of India on 10th January 2014 has called upon for a meeting to assess preparedness of manufacturing to meet demand created for indigenous manufactured solar PV cells and modules for Projects under JNNSM Phase-II Batch-I, 750 MW scheme. The meeting was atteneded by major Solar PV Cells and module manufactures in the country, solar project developers and some lending institutions. As per the guidelines issued by MNRE dated 25th October 2013 for implementation of the above scheme, 375 MW capacity is reserved for “Domestic content required” (DCR) category which stipulates use of Solar PV cells and Modules manufactured in India. The discussions revolved around issues related to overall manufacturing capacity, capacity available on their assembly lines, delivery schedule to meet the timelines stipulated in the guidelines, bankability of the product, cost difference, etc.
Manufacturing Capacity: Approximately 550 MW of cell manufacturing capacity and approx. 1.1 GW of Solar PV modules manufacturing capacity is available which is much more than the requirement under “DCR” category. In fact, availability of solar cells and modules produced in India was reported to meet the balance requirements of the scheme also.
PV Modules Performance: It was emphasized that Indian manufacturers have been supplying indigenously manufactured PV modules to many other countries meeting global performance requirements. It was mentioned that the apprehensions, if any, regarding performance are without any basis. The performance of Indian modules is comparable to best available in the global market.
Guaranties and Warranties: Domestic PV module manufactures have indicated that they are extending one of best guaranties and warranties (e.g. Nominal Power Output) as available globally to the PV module purchasers.
Bankability: PV module manufactures have indicated that Solar PV Projects using their PV modules have got funded by most of the leading banks / financial institutions. Bankability Report of Solar PV modules can also be made available to the Solar PV module purchasers.
Cost difference: It was agreed by the manufacturers that there is a difference in the cost of PV modules which are manufactured indigenously and the ones which are imported due various reasons beyond their controls, such as, higher cost of financing, higher electricity tariff. It was mentioned that this difference could be of the order of Rs. 50-60 lakh per MW capacity of the project.
Delivery Period: It was emphatically indicated by the PV manufactures that are in absolute readiness to meet timelines of project commissioning as per requirements of the scheme.
Conclusion: It was felt that there is enough available capacity of indigenously manufactured PV Cells and Modules to meet DCR requirement under 750 MW VGF scheme under JNNSM Phase-II Batch-I.
All the above conclude the country's ability to fulfill the Mission's aim for DCR, but the actual results are expected only when te financial closures are made by the participitating companies for setting up solar power plants using DCR scheme. The participants are expected to undergo many challenges in terms of cost and availability before complete execution of the projects.