Manufacturing

The acquisition would be made through Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL)—a joint venture of three public-sector mining units—which recently visited the Lithium Triangle countries in South America (Chile, Argentina and Bolivia) to explore the possibility of lithium acquisition.

Falling PV panel prices led to notable year-on-year falls in the cost of developing solar plants around the world. India led the way with PV projects costing a weighted average of just $793/kW of capacity installed in 2018. Costs in China dipped to $879/kW last year, while solar projects in US and Australia cost $1,500.

While the world’s biggest solar manufacturers are confident there are plenty of alternative markets for a rising volume of panel exports, the message spelled out by first-quarter shipment figures is that protectionism works.

The Mumbai-based engineering company, which acquired a majority stake in electric scooter maker Ampere Vehicles last year, is currently building a supply chain for the proposed EV battery manufacturing plant.

Chinese solar modules currently meet around 80% of India’s demand. Domestic modules face stiff competition from those imported from China, which cost 10-20% less, even after the imposition of safeguard duties.

With Narendra Modi’s government stunning pollsters with another huge victory, the solar industry expects renewable power momentum to be maintained with steps including anti-dumping duty on solar module imports, a national policy for rooftop solar and an emphasis on easing private-sector participation in the power sector.

With Turkey now deemed too developed to qualify for exemption from import tariffs, the nascent Indian solar manufacturing sector is one of the few markets left whose cells and modules can be shipped to the U.S. free of tariffs.

The contraction in Chinese trade flows to the U.S. is likely to result in the dumping in India of Far Eastern electronic and electrical components as well as steel, iron, chemicals and plastic products.

Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited, Jaipur has invited bids to supply 2.87W crystalline silicon solar cells. The quantity to be supplied is 450,000. The deadline for bid submission is May 24, and bids will open on May 25.

The National Institute of Solar Energy has invited bids to fabricate, supply, install and commission 800 solar dryer cum space heating systems in Jammu and Kashmir. The systems will be installed in the Leh and Kargil regions in a phased manner. The deadline for bid submissions is May 24, with technical bids opening on May 27.