Indias government appears torn between supporting domestic solar manufacturing and rolling out solar to as many communities and households as possible. In the recent budget, bold plans to provide solar to millions of Indian households and restarting of the countrys Solar Mission, with tenders for 1.5 GW of utility scale projects, show a move towards wider solar deployment.
However on the flip side, that Indias Ministry of Commerce and Industry has recommended anti-dumping duties be imposed on PV modules from the U.S., China, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Such duties would seem to be a plus for Indian PV manufacturers, however the internationally focused Vikram Solar has attacked the proposed duties.
Anti-dumping duties will be disastrous for the country, Vikram told Bloomberg in an email statement. Duties would force Indian manufacturers: to source poor efficiency and low reliability domestic solar cells, the statement continued.
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has recommended tariffs ranging from $0.08/W to $0.81/W.
Looking beyond India
Vikram Solars stance is in keeping with the company's focus on international markets, along with supplying domestic demand. Late last month, the company opened a U.S. office in Boulder, Colorado. It appointed Ken Oatman as Head of Business Development Americas.
Vikram has 150 MW of production capacity in India. It also operates a European office, in Germany.
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