Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Economy
Why in News?
Recently, The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is examining a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to support domestic polysilicon manufacturing,
- Polysilicon – An ultra-pure form of silicon used as the fundamental raw material for solar photovoltaic cells and semiconductor microchips.
- Produced primarily through chemical purification processes like the Siemens process
- Starting Feedstock – Polysilicon chunks or rods are melted to form large blocks or single crystal cylinders.
- Ingot and Wafer Creation – These solid structures are sliced into thin silicon wafers, which become the base of photovoltaic cells.
Ingot is a large, solid cylinder-shaped block of purified, single-crystal silicon; Wafer is a thin, flat, circular slice cut from that ingot.
- Usage– Not limited to solar; also used in semiconductors.
Polysilicon PLI Proposal
- Target – support 10 GW capacity.
- Treated as a separate industry since polysilicon is also used in semiconductors.
India has 213 GW module capacity, 32 GW cell capacity, but fully dependent on China imports for polysilicon.
Current Status
- Downstream manufacturing (cells, modules, ingots) expanded rapidly.
- Polysilicon remains the missing link in domestic solar supply chain; scheme size, structure, and participants not yet disclosed.
- Separate from Solar PLI – Polysilicon support will be independent of this scheme; existing solar PLI boosted cells, modules, and ingots.
- Expected addition – 100 GW cell capacity and 80 GW ingot/wafer capacity in coming years.
Renewable Tariffs
- Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) Renewable Energy – Round the Clock (RE-RTC) bid discovered tariff at Rs. 5.25/unit; Tariff nearly matches nuclear power costs.
- Provides 90% assured power availability; solar contributes 50% daytime supply.
- Developers integrated solar, wind, and storage for reliable supply.
RE-RTC – It is a power supply model that delivers continuous, uninterrupted clean electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Green Hydrogen and Emerging Fuels – Government creating markets for green hydrogen, ammonia, methanol; Pilots in fertiliser, refineries, shipping, transport, steel.
Regional Energy Trade
- Cross‑border cooperation with Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
- Focus on regional electricity market linking solar, wind, and hydropower.
Reference
Downtoearth | PLI
