India gives foreign solar cell makers another shot

It released a call for expressions interest by foreign solar manufacturers that want to build production lines in India.

Despite the bleak results of the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) 1.2GW auction for hybrid solar and wind, pv magazine found that the Central Electronics division of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology released a call for expressions of interest by foreign solar manufacturers that want to build production lines through joint ventures with Indian companies.

The EOL is similar to the previous one issued by the ministry in June, which is published under the Make in India initiative.

It was also reported that the document aims to secure crystalline silicon cell and module manufacturing in India but asks for companies’ experience in polysilicon, ingot and wafer production. It also requires firms to say if they could bring their operations to India as part of the government’s pursuit of a domestic solar supply chain.

According to the report, no deadline has been issued for EOLs.