Source: cleanenergynews.ihsmarkit.com
India intends to quintuple the size of a subsidy scheme for domestic solar photovoltaic (PV) module makers, pushing forward with the country's Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) strategy for decarbonizing its economy.
To help counter climate change, the world's third largest GHG emitter is aiming to have 500 GW of renewable energy capacity installed by 2030—including at least 280 GW of solar—before reaching -zero emissions netes by 2070.
"This decarbonization strategy opens up huge employment opportunities and will take the country on a sustainable development path," Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the country's parliament in el discurs del pressupost anual 1 February.
En el pressupost d'abril de 2022 a març de 2023, Nova Delhi destinaria 19.500 milions de rupies addicionals (2.610 milions) al programa d'incentius vinculats a la producció (PLI) per promoure la fabricació de mòduls fotovoltaics nacionals, va dir Sitharaman.
El PLI, que va començar amb 4.500 milions de rupies (600 milions) en el darrer pressupost anual, ofereix subvencions a plantes de mòduls seleccionades en funció de les seves vendes, la qualitat del producte i el contingut local.
IHS Markit estimates 80 percent -90 percent of India's solar components are imported, with China the main supplier. Government figures show India currently has annual production capacity of just 2.5 GW for PV cells and 9-10 GW for modules.
But the initial PLI budget will help drive the expansion of India-based manufacturers, according to the National Investment Promotion Facilitation Agency (NIPFA), and India's capacity of integrated module plants that can convert wafer-ingots to modules is expected to arribar als 10 GW by the end of March 2023.
The government agency expects India's annual module manufacturing capacity to expand by 30-35 GW between 2021 and 2025, in part driven by strong demand and policy incentives.
New Delhi is hoping to generate employment opportunities and attract foreign investment as a result of expanding the PV manufacturing sector, said Amit Manohar, especialista en inversions de la NIPFA.
"After a decade of innovation and cost reductions, the solar energy sector has evolved to a major source of energy, and it could potentially serve 30 percent or more of India's electricity demand by 2030," Manohar said.
Estratègia Atmanirbhar Bharat
Since 2020, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been promoting the Atmanirbhar Bharat strategy in several sectors—including renewables—to boost domestic manufacturing capacity in a post-COVID recovery.
Al pressupost d'abril de 2021 a març de 2022, Nova Delhi va injectar 1,000 milions de rupies (133 milions) a la Corporació d'Energia Solar de l'Índia i 1.500 milions de rupies (200 milions) a l'Agència de Desenvolupament d'Energies Renovables de l'Índia. Les entitats són responsables d'executar diversos programes d'incentius patrocinats pel govern central-.
Des de l'abril de 2021, només les empreses d'una llista-india i aprovada de fabricants de mòduls poden participar en licitacions solars patrocinades pel govern central.
A més, el govern té previst imposar un dret de duana bàsic del 40 per cent als mòduls solars importats i del 25 per cent a les cèl·lules a partir d'aquest mes d'abril.
Kashish Shah, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, suggested the policy initiatives' effects are likely to be compounded by problemes de la cadena de subministrament in the global PV industry. "Module manufacturing in India has never been more viable," va dir en Sha last December.
Amb els forts senyals de la política, algunes grans empreses índies han anunciat grans programes d'inversió en renovables que posen un gran focus en l'energia solar.
Després d'haver establert l'objectiu de construir 100 GW de capacitat solar l'any 2030, Reliance Industries va dir l'any passat que llançarà una planta integrada de panells fotovoltaics a Jamnagar després d'adquirir REC Group per 771 milions. S'espera que la planta tingui una capacitat inicial de 4 GW anuals abans d'augmentar fins als 10 GW.
In January, Reliance, India's largest publicly traded company by market capitalization, announced iniciatives d'inversió renovable totaling Rs 595,500 crore (80 billion), and a substantial proportion of the money will be used to develop manufacturing facilities for PV modules, electrolyzers, batteries, fuel cells, as well as hydrogen and low-carbon energy projects in Gujarat over the next 10-15 years.
Rival conglomerate Grup Adani plans to invest 50 billion to 70 billion in decarbonization projects in the next decade, including 20 billion in renewable energy generation. It aims to have a solar manufacturing capacity of 2 GW per annum by the end of March 2023.
While the government's policies are prompting more investment in domestic manufacturing, IHS Markit Renewable Analyst Ankita Chauhan warned of short-term disruptions to solar installations in the country.
"Current domestic manufacturing is not sufficient to meet the domestic demand, and it may take another three to five years to build it up," said Chauhan, adding that the policies favoring Indian manufacturers will push up overall costs, and restrict vendor choices for procurement and project timelines.
Ensenya'm els diners
En l'últim pressupost anual, el govern indi també va dir que millorarà el reciclatge, promourà l'agroforestal, adoptarà una política d'intercanvi de bateries per als vehicles elèctrics allà on les xarxes de càrrega no siguin viables i substituirà el 5% -7% del carbó utilitzat a les centrals tèrmiques per pellets de biomassa, entre altres mesures de descarbonització.
Sitharaman said India will issue sovereign green bonds in the coming fiscal year to fund "green infrastructure" in the public sector, without elaborating.
Official data showed India had 150.5 GW of renewable capacity installed in November when large hydropower projects were taken into account. This means annual capacity additions of 40-50 GW will be required to meet the government's 500 GW target by 2030.
"On a very conservative capital funding calculation the investment required for achieving the target is approximately 210 billion," said Manohar, adding that both public and private stakeholders need to contribute.
En una nota publicada el mes passat, els analistes d'IHS Markit estimaven que l'Índia necessitarà més de 28.000 milions d'inversió anual per assolir l'objectiu del 2030, en comparació amb la despesa mitjana de 7.000 milions en els últims cinc anys.
"Project developers are tapping international capital markets to access low-cost financing, but the government needs to improve regulatory transparency, introduce a uniform green taxonomy, and provide targeted interventions to improve access to low-cost international capital," the note said.
A part d'invertir diners en una capacitat de generació de carboni baixa-, els investigadors del Laboratori Nacional Lawrence Berkeley, als EUA, van dir que les parts interessades de l'Índia hauran d'invertir 40.000 milions en 63 GW d'emmagatzematge de bateries per garantir l'estabilitat de la xarxa.
Still, they believe renewable expansion will be the cheapest overall option in meeting India's rising electricity demand.
"Dramatic cost reductions over the last decade for wind, solar, and battery storage technologies position India to leapfrog to a more flexible, robust, and sustainable power system for delivering affordable and reliable power to serve demand that will nearly double by 2030," they said in un estudi published last December.
