Energetica India Magazine May - June 2026

FEATURE STORY 42 Chart: India’s PV Manufacturing Projected Growth Source: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Polysilicon, or solar-grade silicon, re- mains the critical missing link in India’s solar manufacturing chain, although several projects are currently in the pipeline, including new polysilicon plants expected by 2027–2028. Ana- lysts project that India could develop up to 100 GW of polysilicon capaci- ty, amounting to tens of thousands of tonnes annually, by 2030. While India has established the foun- dations of a large domestic module manufacturing industry, the long-term competitiveness and resilience of this expansion will depend on how rapidly domestic cell manufacturing, upstream silicon production and the ancillary eco- system scale in parallel, noted TERI. “From a system-cost perspective, the quickest lever to reduce import expo- sure without raising tariffs remains the module and cell segment, because it represents the largest single equipment line-item in a utility-scale solar plant and therefore dominates near-term val- ue-add, jobs, and bankability. At bench- mark utility-scale capital costs typical- ly cited in the INR 3.5–4.5 crore/MW range, policy calibration must balance manufacturing scale-up with delivered electricity affordability for industry and consumers,” noted the TERI report. The Path Forward India stands poised to evolve from giga- watt buyer to gigawatt maker through- out the value chain by 2030, if upstream integration, equipment self-reliance, ESG embedding, and skilled ecosystems take root. The proposed policies and financing tools would slash wafer and polysilicon imports, spawn jobs, and el- evate Made-in-India modules as trusted players in US and EU-driven markets. In the end, India’s push to become self-reliant in solar manufacturing has to be seen realistically. China still dom- inates the global solar supply chain, from polysilicon and wafers to cells and modules, and completely cutting off dependence is neither practical nor eco- nomically sensible. Temporary disrup- tions due to geopolitical tensions can happen, but a complete long-term break from Chinese supply chains is unlikely. In fact, China also depends heavily on export markets like India, especially as tariff barriers rise in the US, UK and Europe, and its own manufacturing ca- pacity far exceeds domestic demand. Still, India must ensure this dependence does not turn into a strategic weakness in the future. The solution for India is not isolation, but balance. The country needs to steadily build its own manufacturing strength, secure raw material supply chains, encourage technology part- nerships and reduce vulnerabilities over time. A practical middle path, i.e. strengthening domestic capability while staying connected to global supply chains, will likely be the most sustain- able way forward. energetica INDIA- May-June_2026