IREDA Qualifies Bidders For Solar PLI Scheme

• IREDA has selected 16 qualifying bidders for the INR 45 billion Solar PLI auction
• Jindal India has emerged as the lowest bidder with INR 13.90 billion quote for PLI support for 4 GW capacity
• Other qualifying names that plan to build 4 GW capacity are Shirdi Sai Electricals, RNESL and Adani Infrastructure
• Mercom said the agency will allocate the entire amount of INR 45 billion to the qualifying companies under bucket filling method

Indian government has released the list of eligible companies under its Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for solar PV manufacturing. Among the qualified bidders, the ones that have offered to build 4 GW integrated capacity each—from polysilicon to modules—are Jindal India Solar Energy, Shirdi Sai Electricals, Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL) and Adani Infrastructure.

Jindal India was the lowest bidder, quoting INR 13.90 billion ($185 million) of the PLI amount to set up this capacity. Shirdi quoted INR 18.75 million ($250 million), RNESL quoted INR 19.17 billion ($256 million), and Adani has bid for INR 36 million ($480 million).

According to Mercom India Research, 16 bidders have qualified and respective PLI requested by them has been released. The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will decide on the PLI to be disbursed to each of these bidders, it added, under a bucket filling method to disburse total amount of INR 45 billion (see IREDA Launches INR 45 Billion Production Incentive Tender).

For solar manufacturing from stages 2 to 4—wafers, cells and modules—Coal India is the lowest bidder with INR 13.4 billion ($179 million). For stages 3 to 4, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures has quoted for INR 3.33 billion ($44.4 million) as the lowest PLI amount sought under the category.

FS India Solar Ventures, the Indian presence of American polysilicon-free solar PV module maker First Solar, Inc., has offered to build 3 GW manufacturing capacity for INR 17.53 ($234 million). The American manufacturer had announced its plans to set up 3.3 GW DC vertically integrated thin film solar module fab in India's Tamil Nadu by H2/2023 provided it gets satisfactory government incentives (see First Solar To Build 3.3 GW Thin Film Solar Fab In India).

In September 2021, there were media reports stating the government has been inundated with offers to build 55 GW domestic solar manufacturing capacity by 18 companies (see IREDA's PLI Scheme Attracts 55 GW In Bids).