San Jose, US-headquartered solar cell and module manufacturer Allesun intends to shift its manufacturing facilities in Vietnam and Cambodia to India, it is learnt. Allesun has incorporated a company in India, Aurallesun Stellar Energy Pvt Ltd; the company is looking for Indian joint venture partners.

“Inviting JV partners for the new Indian company of Allesun, USA, for solar panel and cell manufacturing,” says a WhatsApp post of Aurallesun Stellar Energy, which has been forwarded to businessline.

It is learnt that Allesun is open to giving a majority stake in the Indian firm.

Aurallesun intends to set up 800 MW cell and 500 MW module manufacturing capacity in India.

Regulator cannot amend connectivity rules, says Sembcorp

Sembcorp, one of the larger renewable energy companies in India, has objected to an amendment to the General Network Access rules of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), saying the regulator has no right to bring in an amendment that takes away a right already given.

The Fourth Amendment of CERC has been proposed to better utilise transmission networks. Today, if connectivity is allotted to a renewable energy generation station, the right to use it vests with the company for a full day, regardless of whether the company transmits energy or not. Typically, the lines carry electricity only during solar hours. The proposed amendment wants to restrict the right to use the transmission lines to “solar hours” alone.

Sembcorp feels this is a “retrospective amendment” beyond the ambit of the regulator. “The Electricity Act does not expressly or impliedly permit the CERC to notify or amend regulations retrospectively,” the company says in its reaction to the proposed amendments.

The proposed amendments seek to convert the in-principle, as well as final connectivity granted to solar energy companies, to “connectivity with restricted access”, it notes.

As such, “the proposed amendments would have a retrospective operation and impair” the rights of the solar energy company by “taking away vested rights of the connectivity holder”.

Sembcorp further points out that “connectivity is an asset granted to the connectivity grantee upon fulfilment of requirements mentioned in the GNA Regulations and deposit of Conn-BGs”. However, the proposed amendment leads to splitting the connectivity of the solar energy company, which was granted for the entire day, to only solar hours.

“Thus, the proposed amendment seeks to take away the connectivity grantee’s right to property and other vested rights in connectivity,” Sembcorp says, while also cautioning that the amendment “seeks to create a mandatory sharing of resources, which could give rise to inter-se disputes”.

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Published on April 13, 2025