‘COVID-19 wake up call for solar industry, need to set up more mfg facilities in India’

Mumbai: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake up call for the domestic solar industry as it is heavily dependent on imports, but domestic manufacturing can be sustained only if there is profitability, a senior official of Tata Power Solar said. As much as 80 per cent of the demand for solar cells and modules are met by imports from Chinese companies.

Therefore, the imposition of work restrictions by China in eight coronavirus-affected provinces, most of which are hubs of solar module manufacturers, impacted the Indian solar industry. The developers are facing a shortfall of raw materials which is going to affect the installations in the first half of the year.