India is going through a solar power
boom a combination of government targets
and steeply falling prices have meant
developers are falling over themselves
to build huge new solar farms across the
country last year one developer set a
new record for how cheaply it was
willing to build a farm in Rajasthan the
problem is that the panel manufacturers
like this one I be solar just outside
Delhi have not seen their order books
well quite as rapidly they are facing
competition from across the border in
China where manufacturers are selling
their goods off very cheaply because
they've simply made too much for their
own domestic market in the last four
years Indian domestic solar
manufacturers have gone from making 246
megawatts of capacity every year to over
500 but in the same period of time
imports have increased from 1275
megawatts every year to nearly 10,000
the reason is simple price if a
developer wants to buy an Indian made
solar panel it's going to cost them
around 62 rupees per watt of capacity if
they want to buy the same panel from
China it'll cost them closer to 25
already the US and the EU have taken
action imposing anti-dumping duties
against Chinese companies for what they
say is selling at the low-cost price now
India is proposing to do the same thing
planning an emergency 70% tariff on
almost all of its solar panel imports
including those from China the plan is
controversial developers say it will
push up power prices and make them less
likely to bid for contracts in the
future smaller manufacturers like this
one say that by including raw materials
under the tariff it'll make panels like
this also more expensive but the largest
manufacturers are happy they say that if
the government wants to protect Indian
jobs of manufacturing it needs to take
action and soon
Karen Stacy Financial Times deli