30 April 2018, News Wires – The Indian government is ready with tenders for an addition of 20 gigawatt (20,000 mega watt) solar power, with the successful bidder mandated to have production facility to manufacture nearly half the equipment requirement.
The generation capacity is proposed to be added over the next three years and is one of the most ambitious programmes undertaken by the government so far, as it seeks to ramp up renewable energy production in the country from around 70 GW to around 225 GW in four years.
Sources told TOI that the first tender is ready to be issued and addresses concerns related to domestic manufacturing that resulted in India being pulled up at the WTO after the US lodged a complaint at the multilateral agency.
As a result, the tweaked plan does not insist on using locally-manufactured panels and modules for the government programme.
Instead, companies with manufacturing facility can use the production base for exports to other countries.
The idea is to ensure that the entire production chain is set up in the country as part of the thrust to the Make in India initiative, said a source.
- ET Energy world
