Monday, June 02, 2014: Expressing his concern on the latest ani-dumping duties row, Solar analyst Bridge to India’s managing director, Tobias Engelmeier, has said that the anti-dumping duties will cripple India’s solar industry for up to two years.
India has proposed definitive anti-dumping duties on the manufacturers from US, Chinese and Malaysian solar manufacturers recently. About 80 per cent of the solar modules in India are imported from these countries, said Bridge to India.
Engelmeier wrote in a blog post that the “ill-conceived” and “ill-timed” anti-dumping duties will increase the cost of solar by up to 70 paisa per kWh, leading to scrapping of 1GW of existing projects.
Bridge to India estimates that the duties, that will be raised by 10 per cent would cost bill payers and taxpayers US$600 million. The estimate is just for for the 7.5GW of government-backed projects planned by 2017. Expressing his worry, Engelmeier said the duties would shake investor confidence, setting the market back by as much as two years. He said that even if the domestic manufacturers may benefit of this move, the solar industry is predicted to suffer long term.
