BIS certification and delays in testing have hit Chinese language imports of solar panels – Livemint

NEW DELHI ::
India's economic response to China crossing borders is playing out in the solar space, and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is delaying certification and review of approvals for imported solar panels from China, two people aware of the development said.

Approval is required to be approved for sale in India after the government mandated that all imported solar panels meet strict quality standards after cases of poor quality solar panels became known in the domestic market.

The delays in testing and certification are significant as 80% of the solar cells and modules used in India are imported from China and those imports were valued at $ 2.16 billion in 2018-19. Large Chinese solar module manufacturers such as Trina Solar Ltd., Jinko Solar, JA Solar Holdings, ET Solar, Chint Solar and GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. are some of the suppliers for India implementing the world's largest clean energy program.

Clean energy projects account for more than a fifth of India's installed power generation capacity. India has 34.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar power and aims to produce 100 GW from solar projects by March 2022.

“The Chinese manufacturers have BIS certification, but for every new model to be exported here, it must first be tested and certified by BIS. That is being delayed, "said one of the above two people, the managing director of a New Delhi-based green energy company, asking for anonymity.

“Chinese modules are not approved. This is the first time this is happening, "said the other person mentioned above, the general manager of another New Delhi-based clean energy company, which has also requested anonymity.

The hardening of India's stance stands against the background of new tensions with China, even if the earlier problems that led to a deadly border conflict in Ladakh in mid-June in which 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers died remain unsolved.

“Any change in material must be approved by the BIS. Aside from the geopolitical issue that may or may not be the cause of such delays, the testing capacity is absolutely inadequate. As a result, the latest technology is not being used in India, "said the second person quoted above.

Inquiries emailed Tuesday morning to the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) spokesman and BIS officials went unanswered.

Inquiries by email to Trina Solar Ltd., Jinko Solar, JA Solar Holdings, ET Solar, Chint Solar and GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. also remained unanswered.

Additional customs barriers, subsidized funding to encourage the use of domestic equipment, rigorous testing of foreign equipment, and prior authorization requirements for imports from rival countries are some of the focus areas of India's proposed overhaul of the energy sector.

India is working on a plan to introduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to control imported solar systems that are making them more expensive to source from China. Facilitating local manufacturing in sectors such as solar should support India's goal of playing a bigger role in global supply chains amid the disruptions caused by covid-19.

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