India’s solar cell manufacturing capacity to more than double to 65 GW by June

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The government is working to scale India’s solar cell manufacturing capacity from the current 27 gigawatt (GW) to 65 GW by June next, new and renewable energy secretary Santosh Sarangi said on October 10.

India surpassed the 100 GW milestone for its domestic solar module manufacturing capacity in August. “Now, we are working to also expeditiously increase manufacturing of components such as solar cells, wafers and ingots. In that direction, by June 2026, India’s solar cell manufacturing capacity will cross 65 GW,” Sarangi said on the sidelines of an event organised by the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

This comes at a time when the industry is gearing up for the implementation of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for cells starting June next year.

All module makers in the country supplying to government-backed projects will have to use only locally-made cells mentioned in the list.

Currently, against the 100 GW module manufacturing capacity, India has 27 GW capacity to produce solar cells and only 2 GW for making wafers.

Documents seen by Moneycontrol show that the new and renewable energy ministry aims to have manufacturing capacities of 150 GW for solar modules, 100 GW for solar cells and 39 GW for wafers by 2030.

It is also aiming for a fully integrated solar module manufacturing capacities  to the tune of 24 GW.

For wafers and ingots, India is planning a new incentive scheme to boost production and curb imports from China. For this, the government is likely to use an unused sum of Rs 5,500 crore from an existing solar module manufacturing production linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

While solar modules are made in India, majority of the components such as cells and wafers are imported from China.

On September 11, new and renewable energy minister Pralhad Joshi said India is moving towards building a complete "swadeshi" (domestic) solar value chain, with the target of achieving indigenous solar cell manufacturing by 2028.

"The country is now advancing beyond modules to develop domestic capacity for wafers and ingots as well, ensuring that the entire solar manufacturing ecosystem is established within India,” he said. “This will not only reduce import dependence but also generate employment, boost investment, and strengthen India’s position as a global leader in clean energy manufacturing."

He added that so far about, Rs 50,000 crore has been invested in the country's solar equipment manufacturing sector.

India’s 2030 vision of achieving 500 GW non-fossil electricity generation capacity is already more than halfway achieved, with the country crossing 251.5 GW of such capacity last month.