Indian companies are moving to fill the gap left by the exclusion of Chinese exports from the fast-growing US solar industry, as Washington steps up its crackdown on manufacturers with ties to Beijing.
Sumant Sinha, chief executive of ReNew, among India’s largest renewables companies, told the Financial Times that there “will be demand” for solar components from India as Washington reduces reliance on Chinese supplies for its energy transition.
“There is a need for some diversification, and India can actually become that plus one to China as far as the green tech supply chain is concerned,” Sinha said.
He added that ReNew was considering exporting to the US from its solar factories in India pending US tariff rules. “[India] will fill the gap.”
Washington is weighing additional tariffs on solar imports to protect the domestic industry after a flood of Chinese-produced panels drove global prices to record lows.
Last week, the Department of Commerce released preliminary estimates of duties as high as 293 per cent for solar cell exporters in four countries in south-east Asia, where the US sources the bulk of its solar supplies, often from Chinese companies.
The looming decision has driven developers and manufacturers to look beyond the region to markets notsubject to tariffs. Wood Mackenzie expects cell manufacturing in countries
outside of the main hubs of China and south-east Asia to more than double over the next couple of years, withIndia making up 40 per cent of newcapacity.
“There’s no modular manufacturer in India who is not thinking of exporting,” said Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, chief executive of the National Solar Energy Federation of India, a lobbying group that counts big developers such as Adani Group, Tata Power and ReNew among its member.
Source: Financial Times
