Ministry had ambitious plans in the solar power sector. Imposition of anti-dumping duty will kill the solar mission, commented, Piyush Goyal, Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Minister of India when asked on demand for imposing anti-dumping duty on solar panels.
Imposition of any such duty will lead to escalation in tariff of solar plants, explained, Goyal.
Imports were to be continued as the domestic manufacturing had not reached up to a level from where it can sufficiently supply for any solar mission, he said.
Within the framework of WTO, government has assured to provide adequate support to fulfil the current manufacturing potential with a plan for a five year ramp up from what domestic manufactures have now, Goyal added.
Earlier, minister was of the opinion that domestic solar equipment manufacturing capacity of 700-800 MW is not sufficient to meet the government’s plans of adding more power generation capacity through renewable energy sources.
The current installed solar capacity of country exceeds 2,600 MW. In next five years, the ministry is focused on providing 24×7 electricity to households in India.
Earlier, the Ministry of Commerce had recommended imposing a duty in the range of $ 0.11-0.81 per watt on solar cells imported from the US, China and Malaysia to protect the struggling domestic industry.
The commendations were on the context of US pushing India to the WTO with respect to domestic sourcing rules for the national solar mission.
In India, the government is expecting a $ 100 billion investment in renewable energy sector in the next four years, with a renewed policy guideline to attract investments.In addition, government expects $ 50-60 billion investment in power transmission and distribution.
The government is all set to chalk out a renewable energy policy that will fascinate investments by offering tax breaks and cheaper loans.