India plans action against those flouting domestic component need

India plans to penalize developers that are using foreign equipment in solar power generation projects awarded on the basis that they solely use locally made solar modules, according to two government officials.

To curb such malpractices, the government will make it mandatory for developers to publicly disclose the radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag information of the panels used in solar projects. It will also be incumbent on the developers to share the RFID list of rejected panels.

Mint reported on 7 September about poor quality Chinese solar modules, rejected by developers, being sold in the domestic market at a discount.

These projects awarded under the so-called domestic content requirement (DCR) route by state-owned firms are required to use the solar cells and modules made in India. Also, under the solar roof-top scheme, the government gives subsidy on the condition that the modules should be made in India wherein solar cells can be imported.

“We are trying to attack that (Chinese imports). We have seen that under the DCR projects there have been instances wherein Chinese imports have been used,” said a senior government official, one of the two cited above, requesting anonymity.

Solar modules or panels account for nearly 60% of a solar power project’s cost. Of China’s solar panel manufacturing capacity, estimated to be around 70 gigawatts (GW) per year, the major markets are the US, India and China itself.

“A case has been brought to our notice wherein a firm has put Chinese component under the DCR programme. We will take action against such cases. We are looking into such practices…We are looking into cases wherever we receive a complaint that under the DCR somebody has used foreign component,” the official added.

Queries emailed to a spokesperson for the renewable energy ministry on Thursday remained unanswered till press time.

NEWDELHI: