The selected manufacturer will have to set up gigawatt scale capacitiesNew Delhi: TheSolar Energy Corporation of India(SECI) has invited online bids for selection of solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers for setting up domestic capacities for high efficiency modules under the second phase of the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI).
According to the official document, the selected manufacturer will have to set up gigawatt scale capacities.
“With the objective to promote setting up of integrated plants for better quality control and competitiveness, the bidder shall commit minimum integration across solar cells and modules,” it said.
Based upon the extent of integration proposed, the bidder can bid for any one of the three baskets: Polysilicon-ingots-wafers-cells-modules (PWCM), ingots-wafers-cells-module (WCM), and cells-modules (CM). Funds allotted for each category is Rs 12,000 crore, Rs 4,500 crore, and Rs 3,000 crore, respectively.
In Budget 2022-23, the government had announced an additional allocation of Rs 19,500 crores under tranche-II of the PLI scheme for manufacturing high efficiency modules, with priority to fully integrated manufacturing units from polysilicon to modules. Tranche-I of the PLI Scheme had a total outlay of Rs 4,500 crore.
Each manufacturer is required to submit a single bid to set up a manufacturing facility of a minimum 1 GW capacity.
“The maximum capacity that can be bid for the manufacturing capacity that a bidder will set up under this, will be 10 GW for PWCM and 6 GW each for WCM and CM categories,” said the document.
The scheduled commissioning dates for PWCM, WCM, and CM will be within 3 years, 2 years, and 1.5 years, respectively, from the date of the Letter of Award.
The manufacturing facilities will be eligible for getting PLI on annual basis on sales of the solar PV modules for five years from SCD or the actual commissioning date of the manufacturing unit. In case of delayed commissioning, the PLI period will reduce from five years by the period of the delay in commissioning.
It, however, added that the maximum capacity that will be awarded to a single bidder under the PLI scheme will be 50 per cent of the capacity to be set up by the bidder.
The bidders will have to set-up either greenfield or brownfield manufacturing facilities for the entire quoted capacity. Greenfield manufacturing will involve installation of new plants, machinery and equipment and brownfield manufacturing will involve expansion of existing facilities with addition of new production lines within existing physical infrastructure.
The PLI receivable for such brownfield projects will be 50 per cent of the PLI receivable for greenfield projects, added the document. It further said that part-commissioning of the manufacturing facility is not allowed.
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