Thursday, May 29, 2014: Even as the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping (DGAD) has decided that India will impose dumping duty on international solar panels imported from the US, China, Malaysia and Taiwan, US thin-film manufacturer First Solar has expressed concern that the move could derail existing projects in India. First Solar could face tariffs of US$0.11/W on its solar modules as part of DGAD’s recommendations.
According to First Solar, solar projects that have already signed power purchase agreements (PPA) could be at greater risk now. “The decision if imposed will create an immediate impact on the economic viability of ongoing projects under development where firm PPAs have been executed, while for future bids the power tariffs will certainly witness a steep hike and hinder the significant progress which was made in recent times, which could result in shrinking the demand for solar in India,” a company spokesman was quoted as saying. The DGAD, in its final findings, has recommended anti-dumping duties of up to $0.48 per watt on solar cells coming from the US and $0.81 per watt from China. Meanwhile, it recommends duties of up to $0.62 per watt and $0.59 per watt from Malaysia and Taiwan, respectively. The recommendations now await the Ministry of Finance’s approval.
“First Solar disagrees with the final findings of the DGAD and maintains that it has provided credible evidence to the authorities to establish the fact that First Solar has not dumped into the Indian market. This evidence has not been accounted, while the final findings were ascertained. We will defend our position that these duties are unwarranted,” the spokesman added.
