India imposes anti-dumping duty on fluoro backsheets imported from China

India imposed an anti-dumping duty on the import of fluoro backsheets (excluding transparent backsheets) from China to protect domestic manufacturers. Fluoro backsheet is a polymer-based component that protects the solar modules from dirt, dust, moisture, and degradation.

The items falling under tariff headings 3920 and 3921 of the first schedule to the Customs Tariff Act will come under the anti-dumping duty’s ambit, Mercom reported.

The duty will last for five years (unless revoked, superseded, or amended earlier) from the announcement in the official gazette and will be payable in Indian currency. The duty of   $762/MT will be charged from fluoro backsheets producers Jollywood and Sunwatt and $908/MT from all other producers.

India initiated an anti-dumping investigation following a plea by Indian module manufacturer RenewSys which alleged that the Chinese fluoro backsheet was identical to what was manufactured in India. DGTR found that the imports of fluoro backsheet from China had increased indicating significant price underselling in the range of 20% to 30%.

SECI annulls 25 KW green hydrogen-based pilot project in Leh

India’s Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) “annulled”the request for proposal (RfS) to set up a 25 kW green hydrogen-based pilot project at SNM hospital in Leh, Ladakh. According to Mercom, the bid that was issued in March this year, included setting up of a 25 kW Green Hydrogen based project on a “Build-Own-Operate” basis and supply of electricity, heat, and oxygen using green hydrogen to the SNM Hospital. 

Gujarat to have net metering for Rooftop Solar Systems of 1 kW to 1 MW

Gujarat government allowed net metering for rooftop solar systems having a capacity of 1 kW and up to 1 MW. Gross metering for rooftop solar systems with 10 kW and up to 1 MW capacity will be permitted. Rooftop solar projects set up by residential consumers will be allowed irrespective of the sanctioned load,according to the new norms. Consumers can avail of incentives as per the programme. There will be no capacity restrictions up to the sanctioned load demand for captive consumers and projects set up under third-party sale within the permissible limit.

Solar projects can also be set up by a developer on the rooftop of a residential consumer for the generation and sale of power to another consumer on the same premises under third-party sale, Mercom reported. The developer and consumer must enter a lease or power sale agreement in this case, according to the new rules.

Rajasthan scraps solar duty waiver 

Rajasthan withdrew the electricity duty exemption allowed to the consumers of captive solar projects, the duty was waived in the solar policy 2019, ET reported. In 2020 Rajasthan Solar Association moved the court and managed a High Court stay on duty demand by DISCOMs.

Industry representatives said investors will lose trust in the state government if it changes Cabinet approved policy midway. They said the state energy department which took the decision to reimpose the duty should have consulted the Cabinet. 

The climate crisis to impact India’s renewable energy potential: Study

A new study found that the climate crisis is likely to impact India’s renewable energy potential. A paper published in Current Science journal stated that while solar radiation over most active solar farming regions is expected to decrease during all seasons, the annual wind speed is likely to reduce in north India and increase in some parts of south India.

Scientists said central and south central India must be considered for investments in the solar power sector during the pre-monsoon months as the potential radiation loss is likely to be minimal in these regions,

According to the study, the frequency of high energy-producing wind speeds will decrease as a whole but those of low energy-producing wind speeds are likely to increase. Solar energy production is expected to decrease in the immediate future and this can be attributed to an increase in total cloud cover in the coming years, HT reported.

India allows commercial and industrial users to pay fewer surcharge for clean power

In a move to decarbonise industry, India has eased rules to allow commercial and industrial consumers to switch to green sources of electricity. Users seeking “open access” to a clean energy source –without being tied to the local distributor — will have fewer surcharges to pay, and the approval process will be quicker, the power ministry said.  The threshold for such transactions is being reduced to 100 kilowatts, from 1 megawatt previously, to allow smaller consumers benefit, reported the Bloomberg

Biden invokes war-era Act to boost solar panel manufacturing

The US president Joe Biden will use his executive powers to boost the domestic production of solar panels and their parts. Biden will use the Defence Production Act—a Korean war-era act that directs private companies to prioritise orders from the federal government–to accelerate the manufacturing of solar panels in the US as part of the administration’s push towards clean energy. Biden will also use his authority to allow tariff-free solar panel imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam for two years.

In a significant move, the president suspended import tariffs on solar panels produced in four southeast Asian nations for two years to reboot stalled solar installations. US solar installers ‘breathe a sigh of relief’, Climate Home reported. According to Reuters, battery shortage is hampering the US switch to wind, solar power. U.S. renewable energy developers have delayed or scrapped several big battery projects meant to store electrical power on the grid in recent months, scuttling plans to replace fossil fuels with wind and solar energy.

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