Solar Companies Resume Manufacturing Cautiously after Govt Eases Lockdown Norms

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With India slowly opening up its economic activities again after total shutdown for many days amidst coronavirus lockdown, various companies across the clean energy space, whether top brands or startups are also resuming operations by reopening their factories and offices.

Despite lockdown continued, the government has provided permission to various companies across sectors to reopen their factories and offices but with strict measures and guidelines.

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Thus, companies have cautiously resumed their manufacturing and production activities with limited employee strength and taking proper precautionary measures, as any infection incident reported can prove to be costly.

Companies said that they are ensuring workplace hygiene and employee safety by taking various measures such as checking body temperature of every individual at the time of entry, making mandatory the wearing of mouth mask and gloves for everyone, implementing social distancing among employees etc. Some of them are listed below:

While, after obtaining requisite permission from concerned district administration, Kailash Tarachandani-led Inox Wind, in April last week, said that it had resumed operations at all its three manufacturing plants. The company’s Ahmedabad-based plant manufactures blades and tubular towers while hubs and nacelles are manufactured at it’s Una plant. It’s new integrated manufacturing facility at Barwani manufactures blades, towers and will also manufacture nacelles and hubs.

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Most of the companies across the country had earlier in March shut down their operations post the government order for a lockdown amidst the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Swelect Energy Systems Ltd too resumed operations at its solar photovoltaic (PV) modules manufacturing plant located in Bengaluru in April last week. On the company’s request for allowing execution of an energy supply project to Airport Authority of India (AAI), the concerned authority had granted permission to run its facility with a skeletal strength as per Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines. Besides Bengaluru, the company has its manufacturing facility and Research & Development unit of mounting structures for solar modules, and transformers & inverters in Salem district of Tamil Nadu.

RPG Group flagship firm KEC International (KEC) also resumed operations at all its 5 factories across the country in a phased manner after receiving necessary approvals from the relevant government authority. It also said that it had applied for permissions for the remaining project sites and is hopeful that operations would be resumed at rest of the sites in the near future. However, it’s factories in Brazil and Mexico, being identified as an essential sector in the respective geographies have been operational throughout this period.

Amidst strict measures followed as per the government directives, MicroSun Solar resumed operations at its Bangalore factories and opened all warehouses across the country in May first week. Its offerings includes – solar PV modules, solar water pumping systems, solar power projects (rooftop/ ground-mounted), solar home/ lighting systems, solar EPC etc.

While, Alpex Solar too resumed operations at its module manufacturing facility in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh on May 08, 2020. The company is having an automatic module manufacturing facility with a capacity of 350 MW per annum. In addition to modules, it other products and services include solar water pumping systems.

Besides, Alpex Solar’s sister concern Alpex Exim Pvt Ltd also resumed operations from May 04, 2020, and is operating through Delhi and Ludhiana offices as of now.

In the electric two-wheeler manufacturing space, Okinawa also resumed operations at its plant in Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), and corporate office in Gurugram (Haryana) in May 2020, with 25 percent workforce. The company also issued an advisory to its dealership network, which too will be operating with 25 percent staff.

Meanwhile, for companies to start full swing operations there are many variables involved such as when manpower could be increased, the supply chain would be better when companies can maintain continuous production and sales etc.