India’s PV module exports reached about $2 billion in fiscal 2024, up more than 23 times from fiscal 2022, according to a new report by IEEFA and JMK Research.
The US market accounted for 97% of India’s PV exports in fiscal 2023 and 99% in fiscal 2024, with additional exports to South Africa, Somalia, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
The report said that, despite higher logistics costs, Indian manufacturers earn 40% to 60% more in profit margins from PV module sales in developed markets like the United States than in India.
Other driving factors for the surge in PV exports include lower demand for domestic PV modules following the delayed implementation of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers in April 2024, and several countries considering India as a viable option for their “China Plus One” strategy.
The United States have imposed steep tariffs on PV products from China to gradually phase out Chinese imports. The US government might extend these tariffs to imports from Southeast Asia (SEA), subject to the result of an ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigation by the US Department of Commerce.
The report states that with the expiration of the Free Trade Agreement and an ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty investigation, India can potentially replace Southeast Asian countries to become the leading PV exporting country to the United States.
The report recommends that as India establishes itself as a viable alternative to China, balancing the demands of the export and domestic markets is important. It is crucial to ensure adequate domestic supply, especially for market segments with smaller order sizes, such as residential rooftop solar. The supply-demand gap also affects solar module prices – a critical factor for the price-sensitive residential rooftop solar segment.
India exported over 5.8 GW of PV modules in fiscal 2024 – three times more than fiscal 2023 – representing over 29% of its production. Waaree Energies, Adani Solar, and Vikram Solar led exports, each shipping more than half of their annual output, while companies like ReNew and Tata Power allocated much of their production for captive use.
Several other Indian PV manufacturers – Grew Energy, ReNew Power, Navitas, Solex Energy and Saatvik Energy – are pursuing export markets and setting up supply chains abroad. Waaree Energies and Vikram Solar are also planning to set up PV manufacturing capacity in the US market, taking advantage of the incentives offered under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
