PLI solar projects get 2-year extension for commissioning deadlines

The government of India has allowed manufacturers participating in the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for solar equipment up to two additional years to commission their projects. The decision follows requests from the industry, which faced delays in acquiring capital goods necessary for setting up wafer, polysilicon, and module production facilities.


The extension was approved by the empowered group of secretaries, led by Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan, and covers projects in both tranche-I and tranche-II of the National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules. Tranche-I, with a total capacity of 8,737 MW, included companies such as Reliance New Energy, Shirdi Sai Electricals, and Adani Infrastructure, with a deadline previously set for December 2024. Tranche-II covers a capacity of 39,600 MW and includes firms like Waaree Energies, Avaada Ventures, JSW Renewable Energy, ReNew Solar Energy, and Tata Power Solar Systems, with commissioning dates originally set between December 2025 and March 2026.

The PLI scheme, part of India?s Atmanirbhar initiative during the Covid-19 pandemic, aims to boost local manufacturing across 14 sectors, including solar modules and cells. So far, 80 applications have been approved under these schemes, with INR 21,534 crore disbursed in incentives across sectors such as IT hardware, advanced batteries, textiles, food, automobiles, networking products, and specialty steel.

India?s current solar module manufacturing capacity exceeds 100 GW, with cell capacity at 27 GW and ingot-wafer capacity at 2 GW. Industry estimates suggest that by FY29, module and cell capacities could reach 200 GW and 100 GW respectively, well above the projected domestic demand of 50 GW annually over the next three years.

The extension is expected to support manufacturers in completing projects in critical segments such as wafer-ingot and polysilicon, helping the country expand its domestic solar manufacturing base while maintaining incentive timelines. Tranche-I incentives will continue until FY30, and tranche-II incentives will run until FY32, remaining unchanged from previous allocations.