NEW DELHI: With a new duty slapped on solar module exports to the US, Africa may become an alternative destination for India-made solar power equipment, a government official said.
To push solar module exports and project exports, Indian developers can also set up green energy projects through the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy, said in an interview.
“I believe Africa would emerge as a good destination for India. Not only module exports, but also for project exports, where people are able to go and set up projects as RESCO developers,” the secretary said.
Under RESCO, a company installs, operates and maintains a solar energy system on a consumer’s property. The customer pays the RESCO for the power generated and receives net metering benefits such as lower electricity bills and credits for excess energy. This is in line with the energy services company model of state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd.
India has been playing a key role in energy transition efforts in Africa through the International Solar Alliance. The multilateral organization backed by India and France launched the $200 million fund ‘Africa Solar Facility’ in September to catalyze renewable energy investments in the continent.
The US imposed a countervailing duty of up to 126% on solar module exports from India, Indonesia and Laos over alleged subsidies they provided to domestic manufacturers that rendered American products less competitive than imported supplies. Mint reported earlier that the Indian government is unlikely to intervene on behalf of solar manufacturers, leaving it open for them to take legal recourse.
Sarangi told Mint that the Centre does not give subsidies to local manufacturers and no sops have been disbursed yet, even under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
“We will have to look at the US ruling on this countervailing duty. What exactly… which kind of subsidies in the Indian context they have taken into account, I am not aware because we don’t give any subsidies to our module manufacturers,” Sarangi said.
He said there has been no disbursement under PLI, so no subsidy has been given. So, the subsidies that the US has taken into account in imposing the countervailing duty (CVD) has to be considered, he said.
“But until a review of that CVD is done, our exporters will have to live with it,” Sarangi said.
While emphasizing the creation of new markets for Indian solar equipment, the secretary said Indian solar exporters would have to be competitive globally in terms of pricing. China, the dominant player in the solar equipment ecosystem, is currently the largest supplier to Africa.
Cost-competitive Chinese exports dominate non-US markets. The US has mechanisms in place to curb solar imports from China, which is not the case in several other countries.
“We have to match the prices of other manufacturers in the world. In India, we have reached a certain economy of scale as far as module manufacturing is concerned. And I am hopeful that in the next couple of years our manufacturers should be in a position to supply larger quantities to the outside world,” he said.
Currently, the US is the top market for India’s solar exports. Data from the commerce ministry showed that out of India’s solar module exports of $981.18 million during the April-December period of FY26, modules worth $954.4 million, or about 97%, were shipped to the US. Kenya and Nigeria are among the other countries that procure solar modules from India.
According to Sehul Bhatt, director of Crisil Intelligence, the US duty will create volatile trade patterns for exports from India until the final rate determination scheduled in July 2026, forcing companies to navigate limited market opportunities amid supply additions.
Companies have lined up huge investments in this space. Mint reported recently that investments worth ₹30,000 crore are projected in FY27 to set up about 50GW of cell manufacturing capacity. Cells are assembled to produce modules. Currently, India has a cell manufacturing capacity of about 30GW.
Concerns of oversupply of modules have also been raised of late. In a November report, ratings company ICRA warned of potential industry overcapacity in the case of modules as annual solar module production (60-65GW) is expected to outpace annual installations (45-50GW direct current).
In December, the ministry of new and renewable energy said financial institutions should take a well-informed approach while evaluating loan proposals for solar module facilities. It also said lenders must expand their portfolios beyond solar module facilities to include upstream stages such as solar cells, ingots-wafers, polysilicon, as well as ancillary components such as solar glass and aluminium frames.
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