Solar module manufacturers stressed the importance of increasing solar cell capacity to meet the growing domestic demand at the recent RE Buyer Seller Meet hosted by Mercom India in Pune.

Representatives from Adani Solar and Swelect Energy participated in the discussion.

Kabir Bakshi, Territory Manager, Adani Solar, said, “The domestic content requirement (DCR) module capacities are limited in the country. We are trying to increase the DCR capacity, but the demand increases as we increase the supply. Last year, one million homes were solarized under PM Surya Ghar, and this financial year, the government has set a target of three million homes.”

He noted that India’s solar cell manufacturers are rushing to meet the demand.

Bakshi said that the demand for solar cells would be 9 GW for an average 3 kW rooftop solar system with a target of 3 million homes.

He added that India has a module manufacturing capacity of nearly 90 GW for an annual demand of 30 GW.

“We should be focusing on backward integration. In the race to increase module manufacturing, backward integration is neglected. The need of the hour is to go back and develop infrastructure for ethylene vinyl acetate backsheets, solar glass, and junction boxes. Only 30% to 40% of these components are domestically produced, and the rest are imported,” said Bakshi.

He said Adani Solar is ramping module backward integration to 10 GW to reduce costs and improve product quality.

Demand Segment

Bakshi said modules comprise 50% to 55% of all solar project costs.

Most of the supply and demand for Adani Solar comes from PM Surya Ghar Yojana, followed by the Commercial and Industrial (C&I) segment and utility-scale solar projects.

“The residential sector is booming with awareness from the government side. The C&I sector remains one of the primary drivers in the rooftop solar segment. There is high demand for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) A and B programs. The Maharashtra government has floated 8 GW to 9 GW tenders under KUSUM. There is also evergreen demand from solar parks and open access power projects,” said Bakshi.

He noted that grid connectivity issues and component shortages are impacting solar project development.

Manish Relan, Assistant Vice President of Sales, Swelect Energy, concurred that the company is experiencing demand from C&I and utility-scale projects. He said demand in the C&I sector is very high to mitigate high energy costs.

Module Shortages

Bakshi said that Adani Solar has been incurring module shortages since February.

Adani Solar has a completely DCR-compliant 4 GW solar cell and a 4 GW solar module line. The solar cell line comprises 2 GW monocrystalline passivated emitter and rear cells (PERC) and 2 GW tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cells.

“We are in the phase of establishing a 6 GW TOPCon module line, which is expected to be commissioned in nine to ten months. Parallelly, we are also planning a 6 GW TOPCon cell manufacturing plant,” said Bakshi.

He added that Adani Solar plans to commission nearly 10 GW of solar cell and module capacity within a year and a half.

Relan said Swelect Energy is shifting its focus from P-type to N-type modules.

He added that the company has a 1 GW capacity for N-type modules and plans to expand it by 1 GW by the end of November or December 2025. The company also plans to establish a 500 MW cell manufacturing plant by the next financial year.

Relan also stated that Swelect Energy is producing DCR-compliant modules but finds it challenging to source DCR cells. The company is setting up regional warehouses in India to reduce supply constraints for these modules.

Evolution of Module Technology

Bakshi noted that the C&I sector is increasingly opting for bifacial modules for better generation efficiency. “Even a 1% increase in efficiency and lower degradation has resulted in wider acceptance of TOPCon modules.”

Consumers will be ready to opt for newer technologies if a solar project’s payback period is reduced to two and a half years.

Relan supported the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to advance solar module technology.

“It (AI) will help solar module manufacturers optimize their design, manufacturing processes, and module performance. The Internet of Things and 5G rollout will allow us to monitor solar modules remotely. There are also a lot of advancements in material science, and new polymers are coming up. It would lead to lighter modules and assemblies,” said Relan.

The next buyer-seller meet will be held in Coimbatore on June 12, 2025. You can register here.

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