Indian solar industry to refocus on growth.

CHENNAI: With the ambiguity surrounding the imposition of antidumping duties on imported solar panels behind it, the Indian solar power industry is looking to refocus on growth and would install about 900 megawatt (MW) of solar power in 2014, a statement by Mercom Capital Group, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, said.

Mercom had earlier forecast 1000 MW of installation in 2014 but has revised it now since uncertainty that surrounded the anti-dumping case and delays caused by the elections have slowed installation growth.

Major developments in the Indian solar market over the last three months have been dominated by general elections, the anti-dumping case and the recent release of draft guidelines for Phase II, Batch 2 of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), a statement from Mercom said. Approximately 500 MW of solar were installed this year.

The Indian government let the August 22, 2014, deadline lapse on the proposed imposition of anti-dumping duties on cells and modules manufactured in China, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Unites States, indicating that there will be no anti-dumping tariffs placed on components imported from these nations.

India's solar industry is collectively breathing a sigh of relief that a potential disaster has been averted and projects that were stalled can now restart, the statement said.

The drama surrounding the anti-dumping case had brought project development in the country to a standstill with developers essentially stopping the procurement process due to uncertainty surrounding the case. The government has now assured domestic manufacturers a guaranteed market by providing 'adequate offtake' through government programmes, which will employ domestic content requirements, to make up for the antidumping case.

A draft policy guideline for Phase II, Batch 2 projects was also recently announced. However, the new administration has assured the market that there will be a more robust 'revised' draft in the coming months from the solar-friendly NDA administration, the Mercom statement said.

"Although the antidumping case affected short-term outlook on installation growth, the end result was good and the new NDA administration was able to take decisive action, making a pragmatic, 'big picture' decision that will remove uncertainty and help put the solar industry back on track for sustainable, long-term growth," Raj Prabhu, CEO and co-founder of Mercom Capital Group, said.

In addition to this, Indian solar panel manufacturers are also exporting more. Almost $270 million (approximately Rs 1,620 crore) in solar exports were registered in financial year 2013-14, a 152% growth from the previous year, mostly to the European market, the statement said.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com