Chinese dumping steals sunshine from Indian solar tech companies
New Delhi: India’s National Solar Mission may be offering huge opportunities to global players but the domestic solar industry is bleeding owing to poor policy and stiff competition from foreign companies, especially the Chinese.
The NSM, launched in 2010, it sets a target of 1,100 MW during the phase I by 2013 and 20,000 MW of installed solar generation by 2022. The picture looks rosy when one looks at the growth of the solar energy market in India in the last two years and the vast potential the sector offers due to an abundance of sun (a good 300 solar days annually).
New solar energy investments in India increased to more than Rs.12,000 crore in 2011, according to the Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
But things have become gloomy for the domestic industry, which is unable to catch up with global players, who get incentives like subsidies for exporting their products. China is dumping solar products in the market the world over at much cheaper rates and many countries are coming up with anti-dumping guidelines to give an edge to their domestic companies.
“There is massive potential for solar energy in India with over 30 percent of population still having no access to electricity. The government came up with the solar mission but unfortunately it remained silent on what role Indian solar companies can play,” Ajay Prakash Srivastava, president of Solar Energy Society of India, said. The ministry agrees that the manufacturing in India has suffered.
“I understand the manufacturing industry has suffered quite a bit and it’s a weak area in the mission,” said Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy, the nodal agency to run the NSM.
Category: Business, Business News
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