MumbaiThe pace of execution of solar energy projects has slowed to a crawl as developers struggle to cope with a shortage of labour and restrictions on imports solar cells and modules.
While the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has offered developers a six-month extension for completing under-construction projects that have been impacted by the national lockdown, industry experts said this might have to be extended further.
One indicator of this slowing pace is in trade data on solar imports, which shows that project execution is failing to keep up with last year’s pace. India’s solar imports during the September quarter stood at around $140 million, 77% less than the $598 million that imported during the year-ago period. In the April-June quarter, Indian industry imported only $69.2 million, compared to $399 million the previous year, falling 83%, according to industry data compiled by Mercom India Research, as pandemic-related restrictions have slowed the movement of both goods and people both domestically and globally.
