India’s Appetite for Solar Grows, Despite Some Obstacles
In 2013, India considered levying anti-dumping duties against imported solar cells and modules, predominately those from China, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Then, when the new government came into power in May 2014, it rejected these recommendations.
In 2017, a new set of investigations were launched into solar imports but were then terminated after the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) withdrew its petition. It is expected that ISMA will eventually submit a fresh petition.
Another obstacle faced by the Indian solar industry was the fact that its government levied custom duties on solar modules. It took the re-classification of solar modules for the duties to be finally lifted.
But despite all this, India has a growing appetite for solar and the solar landscape is changing in the country for the better. Read on to learn more about how solar developments in India could impact your U.S.-based solar installation business.
India Is Increasing Its Installed Capacity and Support for Domestic Solar Companies
India is showing its commitment to its domestic solar industry through its plan to auction 20 gigawatts of solar power capacity. The award will go to domestic companies with their own manufacturing facilities. At this time, it is not known whether one company will receive the full amount, or if the 20 gigawatts will be dispersed among several tenders. Many are looking at this plan as a make-or-break situation for India’s domestic solar manufacturers.
In a previous auction, India’s largest power generation company, NTPC Limited, offered developers 750 megawatts of capacity in the Ananthapuram solar power park in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The minimum bid had to be at least 50 megawatts. The auction attracted 11 bids from developers, with only one placing a bid for the entire 750 megawatts.
The oversubscription for this tender was a positive sign for India’s solar industry as two prior auctions failed to draw enough bids and had to be postponed multiple times.
What This Mean for U.S. Solar Companies
Like India, the appetite for solar energy is growing in the United States, despite tariffs placed on solar imports. Even with the tariffs in place, 2.5 gigawatts of solar PV were added to the nation’s total in the first quarter of 2018. This accounted for a 13% year-over-year increase and marked the tenth-straight quarter the country added at least two gigawatts of solar capacity.
The tariffs did make an impact, however, as 2018’s first quarter marked a 37% quarter-over-quarter decrease when compared to pre-tariff sales.
As it stands now, expectations are for 2018’s totals to match 2017’s 10.6-gigawatt addition. The big change is predicted to come in 2019 and throughout the early 2020s. This is when, like in India, American solar installers will be involved in creating larger, community-based projects and solar farms.
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