Import tariffs on solar glass to shoot up costs of projects and modules  

Solar module prices and overall solar project costs are set to shoot up following the recent import duties on solar glass. Recently, the Centre imposed anti-dumping duty in the range of $658/MT to $664/MT for imports from China and $570/MT to $664/MT from Vietnam, Mercom reported. 

The news portal pointed out “concerns regarding domestic manufacturers’ capabilities to match the quality” of imported modules as they are new to large-scale production compared to established global players. Developers are worried about efficiency gaps compared to imported modules. “In the past, developers have faced issues such as higher degradation rates and lower conversion efficiencies, which can impact project returns and profitability,” the report said.

Vikram Solar to enter solid-state battery manufacturing

Indian PV manufacturer Vikram Solar says it plans to open a 1 GWh fully integrated solid-state cell and battery factory, which could be expandable up to 5 GWh to meet the global demand, PV Magazine reported.

“Leveraging the technology of our partners, Entity2 Energy Storage, which holds several patents for non-lithium solid-state battery technologies, we are committed to producing batteries that can be scaled up to meet the growing energy needs.”

Solid-state batteries offer advantages such as higher power storage due to minimal loss of electroactive metal and less risk of fire and overheating.

India’s renewable energy sector hit by weak demand, cancellations: IEEFA 

According to IEEFA, India’s renewable energy sector is grappling with low demand for tenders, delays in power agreements, and project cancellations, jeopardising its 2030 target of 500 GW non-fossil power capacity. With unsigned agreements totaling over 40 GW and 38.3 GW of projects canceled from 2020 to 2024, investor confidence and low-cost financing are at risk, the ET report said, citing the IEEFA study. 

India issued a record 73 gigawatts of utility-scale RE tenders in 2024, “but about 8.5 GW was undersubscribed — five times higher than in 2023 — amid lower demand due to complex tender structures and delays in interstate transmission readiness”, IEEFA said in a report.

India’s cumulative unsigned power sale agreement capacity has exceeded 40 GW, with tenders from top clean energy agency Solar Energy Corporation of India alone accounting for about 12 GW, IEEFA study pointed out. Meanwhile, about 38.3 GW of capacity was cancelled from 2020 to 2024 – 19% of the total – due to tender design issues, location or technical challenges, under subscription and delays in signing power supply agreements, the report added.

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