LONGi Solar, Waaree Energies, JA Solar, Jinko Solar, and Premier Energies were the top solar module suppliers in the first half (1H) of the calendar year (CY) 2023, according to Mercom’s recently released India Solar Market Leaderboard 1H 2023.

The report covers market shares and rankings across the Indian solar supply chain and provides the most accurate and comprehensive coverage of industry leaders.

During 1H 2023, polycrystalline modules accounted for 11.6% of the total module supply, while monocrystalline modules constituted around 81.5%. Bifacial, Thin Film, and HJT modules accounted for approximately 7% of the supply.

The top three suppliers— LONGi Solar, Waaree Energies, and JA Solar —accounted for 9.1%, 8.9%, and 7.2% of the total modules supplied in 1H 2023, respectively. Jinko Solar and Premier Energies were the fourth and fifth largest, with 6% and 4.3% of the market share, respectively.

About 35% of the capacities shipped to the domestic solar market came from the top five suppliers.

LONGi Solar emerged as the top choice among developers in 1H 2023.

As of June 2023, LONGi has supplied around 8.5 GW of solar modules in India. The company has signed an investment agreement with the local government of Shaanxi province to manufacture 100 GW of monocrystalline silicon wafers and 50 GW of monocrystalline cells. It aims to expand its monocrystalline silicon wafer, cell, and module production capacity to 190 GW, 110 GW, and 130 GW by the end of CY 2023.

Waaree Energies, one of India’s major module producers, with 12 GW of module production capacity in Gujarat, recently raised $120.8 million in a second round of equity fundraising headed by Valuequest. It intends to expand its module production capacity to 20 GW, cell manufacturing capacity to 11.4 GW, and wafer manufacturing capacity to 6 GW over the next two years.

JA Solar ranked third. The company has 12 manufacturing bases and produces and supplies silicon wafers, cells, and modules. As of June 2023, the company was one of the largest suppliers of solar modules in the Indian market, with shipments totaling nearly 7 GW.

Mercom’s India Solar Market Leaderboard report covers the market landscape across the entire supply chain. For the detailed and comprehensive report, click here.

Also, the Market Share Tracker, which gives data insights into your competitors and their growth rates on a quarterly basis, is now available.

With a fortnight to go for COP28 in Dubai and when some 60 nations are said to be working on a deal to triple renewable energy capacity targets until 2030 and move away from coal, India’s coal-to-clean commitments are in danger of coming apart.

There is still no word on whether India would back the deal, but it has left no one in doubt on where it stands on coal. Reports say the U.S., EU, and UAE want India and China to say yes to the deal, given that the two countries are not doing enough to phase down coal.

In September, under India’s presidency, the G20 group of nations had pledged to accelerate efforts to phase down unabated coal power in line with national circumstances.

India’s Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh has now said India cannot be pressured into reducing its coal usage to generate electricity.

“COP-28 is going to be held in UAE. There is going to be pressure on nations at COP to reduce the usage of coal. We are not going to do this since our point of view is clear that we are not going to compromise on the availability of power for our growth, even if it requires that we add coal-based capacity,” he recently told a conference of power ministers of states.

Singh’s comments to the conference come in the wake of a series of moves by the Ministry of Power this year to increase coal-based thermal power generation capacity. At the same event, Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal said India would likely add 10 GW of thermal capacity this financial year and a renewable capacity of 21 GW. He also said up to 75 GW of additional coal-based fleet would be required by 2031-32 to cater to the fluctuating demand impacted by extreme weather events.

Last month, the government directed all coal-based plants to increase the imported coal blending limit from 4% to 6%, besides extending the validity of Section 11 of the Electricity Act until June 2024. The Act mandates that a generating company must, in extraordinary circumstances, operate and maintain any generating station in accordance with the government’s directions.

Karnataka, which has been facing a big power deficit, too invoked the emergency provision in October.

Early this month, the Power Ministry sent out an advisory to the states to encourage generating companies under their administrative control to take over stressed thermal power assets of over 6 GW by participating in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process. These stressed power assets are of commercial significance to the capacity addition plans of the states.

India’s pedaling back on phasing down coal commitments reflects the difficulty in meeting the country’s galloping power demand. States have been told to run power plants at full capacity, even as coal stocks at several units are bottoming out. The Central Electricity Authority has forecast an all-India peak power demand of 256.53 GW in the financial year 2024-25, rising sharply from 2023-24 when a peak of 240 GW was witnessed.

The rising power demand has coincided this year with a drop in renewable generation, mainly hydroelectricity, following a weak monsoon.

India has targeted 50% installed power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, but thermal generation still continues to be India’s mainstay. Between April and September this year, thermal contributed 72.83% to the overall generation, as against 24.15% from renewables.

Understandably, India is prioritizing meeting national priorities over rushing to achieve its energy transition goals. India’s economy is growing at a fast pace, and any disruption on the power front can cause a setback.

“Being prudent and thoughtfully planning out the energy transition to avoid disruptions to power supply and higher energy costs is not a bad thing. However, the transition to renewables should be a top priority to avoid losing out on the incredible opportunities they represent,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

Many countries, especially in Europe, have had to reset their coal exit plans after the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Crippled by the stop in Russian gas supplies, Germany had to reconnect a few coal-fired power plants to the grid to keep its economic engine running. France followed suit.

Engineering and consulting firm Gensol Engineering has won an engineering, procurement, and commissioning (EPC) contract from NHPC to set up a pilot project for a green hydrogen-based mobility station in Kargil, Ladakh.

The project aims to power two hydrogen fuel cell buses within the region.

The tender was floated in June.

Gensol secured this project with Matrix Gas and Renewables, a natural gas aggregator and hydrogen infrastructure developer, which will oversee the EPC of dual electrolyzers.

The project entails the installation of two units, each with a capacity of 30 Nm3/hour. The estimated daily hydrogen production target is 40 kg, ensuring a minimum purity level of 99.97%.

Gensol must also develop a 500 kW grid-connected, ground-mounted solar project to provide energy to the hydrogen refueling station.

The scope of work includes the entire balance of project EPC, encompassing the green hydrogen system installation, storage, dispensing facilities, and the requisite civil and electrical infrastructure for the integrated solar and hydrogen operation in Ladakh.

The project must be commissioned within one year. Gensol will oversee the project’s operation and maintenance for three years.

“Our collaboration with a state-operated entity such as NHPC bolsters Gensol’s stature and trustworthiness in the industry, creating avenues for additional opportunities and alliances in the green hydrogen sector. The NHPC project win is set to strengthen Gensol’s market position, elevate our technical capabilities, and pave the way for growth and collaboration in the renewable energy sector,” said Ali Imran Naqvi, CEO-BD & Project Management, Gensol Engineering.

The electrolyzer technology for the project should fall under the Alkaline, Proton Exchange Membrane, Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell, or Anion Exchange Membrane type.

The tender specified that the solar modules used should be listed in the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and have a minimum wattage of 320 Wp.

Modules must be warranted for ten years, and the output peak watt capacity should be at least 90% at the end of 10 years and 80% at the end of 25 years.

Recently, Gensol secured a ₹3.02 billion (~$36.3 million) contract to construct a solar power project from Maharashtra State Power Generation Company. Gensol will undertake the EPC of a 62 MW grid-connected solar project.

India generated approximately 27 billion units of solar power in the third quarter of the calendar year 2023, up 19% year-over-year , according to the data published by the Central Electricity Authority. The country’s solar power generation fell 12.1% quarter-over-quarter  after hitting a record high in Q2, as the seasonal monsoons dampened generation. Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu recorded the highest solar power generation quarter-over-quarter, with 9.5 BU, 3.4 BU, and 3.1 BU, respectively.

REC Power Development and Consultancy issued a tender to select a transmission service provider to establish an Inter-State Transmission System for evacuating 5.5 GW power from the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Zone Phase IV. The last date for the submission of bids is December 1, 2023.  Bids will be opened the same day.The project must be completed within 24 months.The selected bidder must furnish a performance bank guarantee of ₹890 million (~$10.6 million) within ten days from the issuance of the Letter of Intent.

Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission provided a series of clarifications on the difficulties in implementing certain sections of the HERC (Green Energy Open Access) Regulations, 2023. It was responding to a petition filed by Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam. The Commission stated that while reliability charges will not apply for open access consumers, imbalance charge is applicable and will be governed by the DSM Regulations or Open Access Regulations. The Commission also clarified that the exemption of transmission and wheeling charges on captive solar plants commissioned on or before February 13, 2019, provided under HERC RE Regulations 2021, will continue to be made applicable.

The UK government announced an increase in the maximum price for offshore wind projects to ensure the effectiveness of the Contracts for Difference program. The maximum strike price for offshore wind projects has been increased by 66% to £73 (~$90)/MWh. Floating offshore wind projects will also increase by 52% to £176 (~$218)/MWh. The maximum price for solar projects will go up by 30% to £61 (~$75)/MWh. These adjustments are set to take effect in the upcoming CfD Allocation Round 6 scheduled for 2024.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced funding of $3.5 billion to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and battery materials. The initiative aims to create and upgrade facilities critical for supporting the future of clean energy industries, including renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs). Administered by the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, the investment reflects the U.S.’s commitment to achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, with EVs constituting half of all new light-duty vehicle sales by 2030.

Norway-based polysilicon manufacturer REC Silicon reported a revenue of $34.8 million in the third quarter of 2023, a 5% YoY decrease from $36.7 million, as polysilicon prices continued to decline during the period. The average polysilicon prices witnessed a 3.6% decrease in Q3 from the previous quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization came in at a loss of $17.8 million, an increase from a loss of $13.8 million in the previous quarter. Total polysilicon sales volume, including by-products, was 199 MT during the quarter, dropping from 426 MT in Q3 2022.