Solar manufacturing industry providing 30,000 jobs annually: Govt tells RS

The solar manufacturing industry is providing 29,900 new jobs every year based on the installed capacity, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Under solar manufacturing, module and capacity as of date is 11,500 MW, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Bhagwanth Khuba said.

"One MW provides 2.6 jobs per year and based on that annual jobs per year is 29,900," he said.

The government is also providing training under programmes and by February 2022, around 62,000 people were trained.

The minister was replying to a query of YSRCP member V Vijayasai Reddy on the steps taken by the government for penetration of renewable energy projects in rural area and how much employment has been generated.

Khuba further said the government is eager to construct solar power parks in various states. It will fulfil the demands of the state government and help in this regard.

Power Minister R K Singh, who was also present in the Upper House, said the government already has a PLI (production-linked inventive) scheme for solar manufacturing here of about Rs 8,500 MW.

The Union finance minister has now announced a second PLI scheme in the budget of Rs 19,500 crore, he added.

"For that also, we are going to come out with a bid," he said, adding, "This is not the only step which we are taking. We have also set up a tariff barrier".

Now import of module from other countries will attract a custom duty of 40 per cent and sales a custom duty of 20 per cent, the Union minister said without naming the country.

"We already have some manufacturing capacity of 15,000 MW and we want to scale it up. We want to emerge as an exporter of the module," he said.

As far as 'Make-in-India' is concerned, the country has made some progress and there would be even more progress in that, he added.

The minister further informed that India has solar parks worth 30,000 MW and adding more in that as projects are coming in that.

According to an analysis brought out in January 2022 by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, Natural Resources Defence Council and Skill Council for Green Jobs, the cumulative 81 GW renewable energy capacity addition has created an estimated 1,11,400 Full-Time Equivalent' employment across various project phases as of August 2021, he said.

T G Venkatesh of the BJP highlighted the problems faced by power generators. The state governments are delaying the incentives given by the Centre and the tribunal and sectoral regulators are delaying the judgement over the wheeling charges and other issues, he said.

Replying to it, Union minister Singh said, "We have meetings with the forum of regulators... We have emphasised to them as they should not set up unnecessary hurdles in setting up of renewable energy and pendency in their courts must come down.

The government has also pointed out to the regulators, which has a large number of cases pending before them.

"We have a system of monitoring of cases with the regulators," he said, adding "This is a problem which we are aware of".

Singh also added India has achieved its target of having 40 per cent of its energy requirement from non-fossil fuel, nine years in advance in November 2021.

"Our rate of growth of renewable energy is the fastest in the world and continue to be the fastest," he said, adding "we will reach the target of 500-gigawatt (GW).