India confirms one-year extension of solar cell import duty
The ‘safeguard’ duty will be levied on Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai solar cells – whether assembled into modules or not – at 14.9% from today and falling to 14.5% in six months’ time. Malaysian products are exempted as their imports have fallen dramatically since the duty was introduced, in July 2018.
C&I rooftop solar set to surge in India
Rooftop solar is the obvious way for businesses to save on electricity costs amid the pandemic.
India installed 7.6 GW of solar in the last fiscal year, and plans another 8 GW by April
Some 5.9 GW of utility scale PV generation capacity was added in 2019-20, plus 1.7 GW of rooftop solar, with domestic module manufacturers enjoying around 40% of the market.
Vikram Solar plans 3 GW wafer, cell and module fab in Tamil Nadu
The engineering, procurement and construction services contractor – which has a 1.2 GW module production facility near Kolkata – will establish the factory under a five-year timescale.
India’s ReNew Power to build 2 GW factory
The Haryana-based developer will invest up to $266.9 million to set up a new solar cell and module manufacturing facility.
Tender launched for 1.07 GW of solar in India
Single developers can bid for any amount of capacity, from 10 MW up to 1.07 GW. The projects will be set up on a build-own-operate basis, anywhere in the state of Rajasthan. The deadline for bids is Aug. 31.
Water-free module cleaner for residential PV systems
A newly developed autonomous robotic cleaning solution for modules uses artificial intelligence to clean daily or on demand, without substantial human input.
PV imports to face 20-25% customs duty in India
The Indian government’s levy on modules could almost double to 40% within a year. Cells will see a similar rise, from an initial rate of 15%.
‘Ultra-mega’ 2 GW renewables project approved in India
The state cabinet has approved a 74:26 joint venture proposal by publicly-owned hydropower company THDC India and the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency for the ambitious project.
Indian Railways tenders 400 MW of grid-connected solar
Bidders have until September 16 to pitch for generation capacity which can be installed on vacant land owned by the rail company nationwide.
