NEW DELHI: Indian clean energy companies will only be able to use solar modules built locally from June 2026, according to a government order apparently aimed at reducing Chinese imports. Clean energy sector leaders in India, including ventures by conglomerates Reliance Enterprises and Tata Power, rely on Chinese vendors as their major suppliers. As much as 70 percent of India’s solar power generation capacity is powered by Chinese equipment, according to industry estimates.

Indian companies are already required by law to use locally made solar panels in government projects. The new rule mandates that only modules made from locally built photovoltaic cells, which convert light energy into electricity, can be used in projects with a bid deadline after Monday’s order. “This condition will have to be followed irrespective of the date of commissioning,” said the order, issued by India’s renewable energy ministry. The government is yet to issue the list of approved manufacturers of solar cells because “the installed capacity of solar cells in the country was lower than demand”.

But “with installed capacity of solar cells in the country expected to increase substantially in next year”, a list of approved manufacturers will now be released, the order said. India’s solar equipment manufacturing space has made rapid strides in recent years. A report by Bengaluru-based consulting firm Mercom India said the country’s solar panel production was expected to reach 95 gigawatts by the end of 2025. India added 13.3 gigawatts of solar equipment manufacturing capacity in the first half of 2024, according to the same report. — AFP