As reports come in predicting stunted growth for Indian solar in 2023, PV Tech Premium spoke to Vinay Rustagi, managing director of Bridge To India, about the obstacles facing the sector in the next year and the prospect of light at the end of the tunnel.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is set to boost investment into US renewable energy deployment and manufacturing from US$64 billion in 2022 to US$114 billion by 2031, according to research from Wood Mackenzie, though a mismatch between solar deployment demand and domestic manufacturing capacity may see the sector’s domestic profile lag behind.
Module manufacturer JA Solar has signed a PV module supply agreement with engineering, procurement and construction company Samsung C&T for a PV power plant project in Qatar.
Solar equipment manufacturer SC Solar has signed a 5.2GW heterojunction module automation production line supply agreement with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries.
Chinese module manufacturer Risen Energy has revealed its plan to expand the production capacity of its Hyper-ion solar cell and module to 15GW in 2023.
PV manufacturer Goldi Solar is planning to participate in India’s expanded production-linked incentive (PLI) programme as it bids to ramp up its module and cell production to 6GW and 5GW, respectively, by the end of 2025.
Trina Solar US has announced that its 6.5GW PV wafer manufacturing facility in Vietnam specifically designated to supply the US market will be online in mid-2023.
Despite the headwinds impacting module supply and solar deployment, India’s solar market is expected to emerge from a slow 2023 with significant growth and feel the benefit of the country’s protectionist domestic manufacturing policies.
