The Budget 2022-23 gave a boost to renewable energy and energy storage technologies by proposing more funding for an indigenous solar equipment manufacturing program and legislative support for battery storage.
Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister of India, suggested allocating Rs 19,500 crore to a production-linked incentive scheme for the manufacture of efficient solar modules.
“To facilitate domestic manufacturing for the ambitious goal of 280 Gw of installed solar capacity by 2030, an additional allocation Rs 19,500 crore for production linked incentive for manufacturing of high-efficiency modules with priority to fully integrated manufacturing units from polysilicon to solar PV modules will be made,” she said in her Budget speech on Tuesday (01st Feb 2022).
Last year, the government ran a similar Rs 4,500 crore solar manufacturing production linked incentive (PLI) initiative, with Jindal India Solar Energy, Shirdi Sai Electricals, Reliance New Energy, and Adani Infrastructure coming out on top.
Solar PV manufacturers will be chosen through a transparent competitive bidding process under the plan. The PLI will be paid out for five years after the solar PV manufacturing plants have been commissioned, based on sales of high-efficiency solar PV modules.
Manufacturers will be rewarded for improved solar PV module efficiency as well as purchasing materials from the local market. With higher module efficiency and local value addition, the PLI amount rises.
Mr. R.K. Singh, the Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, said PTI in November 2021, “We introduced the Rs 4,500 crore PLI plan (for solar cells and modules). We requested bids and received a solar equipment production capacity of 54,500 MW. We requested an additional Rs 19,000 crore from the government under the PLI, which was granted (in principle). We’d have a PLI of Rs 24,000 crore now. We’d be shipping solar equipment out of the country.”
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