PVTIME – According to Reuters, India’s photovoltaic manufacturing sector has faced severe operational disruption following the introduction of mandatory domestic solar cell production rules on 1 June. Acute shortages of solar cells have forced large-scale production halts and output cuts among the country’s small and medium-sized module manufacturers, posing a significant threat to industry investment, employment, and long-term national renewable energy development goals.
Data from the All India Solar Module Manufacturers Association confirms the extent of the operational turmoil. One third of India’s 140 small- and medium-sized module factories have ceased production entirely, accounting for 60% of the country’s overall module manufacturing capacity. The remaining manufacturers have drastically reduced their operational schedules, limiting production to just three to four days per cycle. Icon Solar has seen its annual production capacity shrink from 3.2GW to 1GW due to ongoing cell supply shortages. Module producers without in-house cell manufacturing capabilities face a waiting period of six to eight months for domestic cell procurement, while production costs for locally assembled PV modules have nearly doubled.
A severe structural capacity imbalance is at the root of the industry crisis. Although India has a nominal module production capacity of 200GW, its official solar cell capacity is only 27GW, with actual operational capacity restricted to 16–18GW. This creates a significant supply-demand deficit.
Industry assessments suggest that it will take three to five years of sustained construction of full-scale production lines to bridge the domestic cell capacity gap. Progress on local capacity expansion is further hindered by India’s heavy reliance on Chinese PV manufacturing equipment and technology, with relevant export control measures slowing domestic industrial upgrading.
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