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27-11-2025
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: India’s solar module exports fell sharply in September to their lowest this year after US trade measures curbed shipments, forcing manufacturers to redirect supplies to the domestic market, industry officials and analysts said.
India’s exports to the United States had surged earlier this year as developers sought alternatives to Chinese panels amid Washington’s restrictions on Chinese products.
The US, which accounted for more than 90% of India’s module exports earlier this year, imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods during the Trump administration and has since tightened scrutiny on imports as it investigates whether Chinese-made components are being shipped from India.
India’s September solar module exports slumped to about $80 million from $134 million in August, government data showed.
The investigative risk from the US and tariff imposition have materialized for some players, said Girishkumar Kadam, senior vice president at ratings agency ICRA.
India’s approved solar module manufacturing capacity stands at about 110 gigawatts and is expected to cross 165 GW by March 2027, according to ICRA.
However, the slowdown in overseas demand has heightened fears of oversupply in the domestic market, where annual solar installations remain below the 44–45 GW needed to meet 2030 renewable targets.
Analysts expect consolidation among smaller module-only firms as margins come under pressure. Vertically integrated players with cell and wafer capacity are likely to weather the downturn better, they said.
In August, the All India Solar Industries Association urged the Indian Banks’ Association to stop funding new, unviable module manufacturing projects to avoid future bankruptcies, according to a letter reviewed by media.
Some Indian companies are focusing more on adding cells, ingots and wafer lines instead of modules. Solex Energy, for example, said it has scaled down plans to build 15 GW of modules to 10 GW and will now make 10 GW of cells instead of the original plan of having 5 GW. “The plan to scale down the module making was a conscious one as the company did not want to add to the potential overcapacity that could lead to price wars in the future,” said Vipul Shah, a director at Solex.
In September, US customs officials said on Thursday they were investigating whether Indian solar company Waaree Energies, opens new tab sidestepped US tariffs on Chinese-made cells and panels by labeling them as made in India.
Waaree has co-operated with the US investigations in the past and will continue to co-operate in ongoing investigation, it said in an exchange filing on Friday.
US Customs and Border Protection revealed the probe in a memo to attorneys for Waaree and the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, a coalition of domestic solar manufacturers that requested the investigation in letters to the agency earlier this year.
In the memo, the agency said there was reasonable suspicion that Waaree had failed to label some of its imported products as subject to antidumping and countervailing duties the United States has imposed for years on solar cells and panels made in China and other Asian nations.
It said it was taking steps to protect US revenues, such as requiring cash deposits from the company while the investigation is ongoing.
US imports of solar panels from India have surged in the last two years since the Commerce Department imposed tariffs on goods from four Southeast Asian nations that had made up the bulk of the nation’s panel supplies. The United States has imposed tariffs on Chinese-made panels for more than a decade.
