India’s SECI scraps 150MW local content solar tender in Rajasthan

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The DCR component may have had to be removed due to the implementation of last year's World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling. Credit: REC

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has scrapped 150MW of solar capacity that was due to be auctioned under local content rules.

The original tender involved 750MW under open category at the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan, but SECI carved out another 150MW for the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) back in January. The DCR mandates solar equipment to be sourced from India. However, SECI announced today that it has decided to revert back to the original conditions by taking out the DCR element.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Thus, 500MW open category will now be auctioned for Phase III, while 250MW open category will later be auctioned for Phase IV.

Jasmeet Khurana, associate director, consulting at consultancy firm Bridge to India, told PV Tech it is likely that since the tendering process would have spilled into the next financial year, the DCR component may have had to be removed due to the implementation of last year's World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling.

Last September, the WTO ruled in favour of the US in its trade dispute with India over the DCR policy. The US claimed that the DCR breached international trade rules by favouring India’s local manufacturers. As a result of the battle, India will have to phase out its DCR tenders. The Indian government has continued to auction DCR capacity in recent months during the interim period before the ruling is enforced, but this may be the first sign of the WTO constraints taking hold.

In what was a deemed a tit-for-tat reaction, India has filed its own dispute with the US over alleged domestic content requirements and subsidies for the renewable energy sector in eight US states.

Without the DCR, India's solar manufacturers continue to struggle against the extreme low module prices coming out of China and other policy uncertainty.

17 June 2025
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 17-18 June 2025, will be our fourth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2026 and beyond.
7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.

Read Next

May 23, 2025
The California State Assembly’s Appropriations Committee has passed a net metering bill that could worsen residential solar owners’ rates when acquiring a property.
May 23, 2025
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill slashing tax credit provisions for clean energy projects.
May 22, 2025
US energy utility AES has signed two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with technology giant Meta for two solar PV projects in the US states of Texas and Kansas.
May 22, 2025
The New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) has contracted 2.2GW of solar PV across 18 projects.
May 22, 2025
SMA Solar will begin local assembly of power systems for large-scale solar and energy storage systems in the US.
May 21, 2025
US PV module manufacturer Silfab Solar has acquired a patent portfolio for back-contact (BC) solar cells from solar research firm EnPV.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 8, 2025
Asia
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece