Indian makers of solar panels are being forced to shut factories as they face waits stretching up to eight months for domestic components to replace Chinese imports as the government pushes to beef up domestic manufacturing, industry sources say.
The disruptions, triggered by rules that took effect on June 1, threaten thousands of jobs and investment of nearly $4 billion, manufacturers and analysts said, while imperiling India's 2030 target to boost solar energy capacity.
"We have suffered a lot due to the domestic cell unavailability for the past three months," said Shailendra Shukla, chairman of Icon Solar, a module maker, who expects production to shrink sharply to about 1 GW from 3.2 GW.
Nearly a third of India's 140 small- and medium-sized solar panel makers, which make up 60% of manufacturing capacity, have halted output and the rest cut cycles to three to four days, the All India Solar Module Manufacturers Association told Reuters.
Manufacturers lacking facilities to make their own cells said they face waiting periods of up to six to eight months for domestic cells, which boost the cost of domestically made solar panels to almost double those that use Chinese cells.
