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Local producers lament relaxed solar panel import rules
Local industry players worry easing import and local content rules would make projects opt to procure solar cells and modules from abroad instead of using those domestically made.
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Workers check solar panels at Tirtonadi Terminal in Surakarta, Central Java, for a Transportation Ministry project capable of producing 500,000 watts of electricity to power operations of the terminal, in this undated photo. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
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new rule that relaxes local content requirements for solar power projects has raised concerns among producers set to begin manufacturing solar panels domestically, arguing that eased rules would cause the market to look away from their products.
This includes PT Trina Mas Agra’s solar panel plant in Kendal, Central Java, which is set to begin production of solar panels and solar cells in September and November, respectively, with a total annual production capacity of 1 gigawatt-peak (GWp) to fulfill growing demand in the country.
Wilson Kurniawan, chief financial officer of Trina Mas Agra, said that the new rule on local content in solar power projects would make the developing domestic solar panel industry more challenging.
“The regulation relaxes import [rules], so it is a bit unfortunate, it is a bit confusing because on one side, [the government] wants to increase local content percentage, but from another side, the government eases import rules,” Wilson said during an event hosted by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) in Jakarta on Aug. 13.
Trina Mas Agra is a joint venture company between PT Dian Swastatika Indonesia, state-owned electricity company subsidiary PT PLN Indonesia Power Renewables and Chinese tier-1 solar company, Trina Solar.
According to the BloombergNEF classification, the tier-1 designation is for major manufacturers that are producing solar panels with increased durability, have been in the business for more than five years and have healthy balance sheets, among other criteria.
Read also: RI eases import rules for solar power projects
