Anti-Dumping

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has postponed the 2 GW PV project tender until further notice. The company has also extended the deadline for expressions of interest for setting up solar manufacturing plants in India until January 29.

The U.S. International Trade Commission delivered a report to President Trump that should bolster Section 201’s petitioners, SolarWorld and Suniva’s efforts to get the president to impose sanctions on solar imports as the January 26 deadline looms.

Milan Nitzschke, president of EU ProSun and spokesman AEGIS Europe, an industry alliance representing 30 European manufacturing sectors, explains what China’s quest for market economy status has to do with the new European anti-dumping directives, and what effect they will have on the measures against Chinese PV manufacturers.

The new legal framework for anti-dumping, designed to protect the EU against unfair trade practices, has been signed. It will come into force on December 20.

The threat of India’s government imposing anti-dumping duties (ADD) against solar cells and modules from China, Taiwan and Malaysia is very real, and runs counter to its own ambitions of hitting 100 GW of solar by 2022. Or does it? Could duties help to boost India’s solar industry in other ways? And does the ongoing political uncertainty create opportunity or trepidation for industry?

More than €30 million in anti-dumping and countervailing duties could have been circumvented by a German company importing modules from China, according to the German custom authorities.

The European Commission aims to introduce a new procedure for determining the minimum import price for Chinese PV panels, after member states have discussed the proposal. It still remains unclear if the minimum import price for solar modules was lowered at the beginning of September or it will be reduced by two cents per watt in October.

The Chinese solar manufacturers AE Solar and Wuxi Saijing have violated the agreement on the minimum price for the import of their modules to Europe.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has initiated the second phase of its CPSU program to provide installation capacity totaling 7.5 GW of solar projects made using domestically manufactured solar cells and modules.

Rahul Gupta, founder and MD of Indian solar developer Rays Experts tells pv magazine that the anti-dumping case lodged against Chinese, Taiwanese and Malaysian solar companies could deliver temporary blow to India’s solar momentum, but in the longer-term it might be best for the sector.