50 containers of solar panels and solar modules departed from China to India

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China's Shaanxi launches rail-sea transport freight train to India​

2022-02-16 14:56:13


Photo provided by China Railway Xi'an Group Co., Ltd. shows the Sino-Indian rail-sea freight train departed from the Xi'an international port station in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Feb. 14, 2022. (Xinhua)

XI'AN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- A freight train carrying a total of 50 containers of solar panels and solar modules departed from the Xi'an international port station Monday, heading for the Huangdao Port in east China's coastal city Qingdao, and then transporting the goods to India by ferry.

This is the first Sino-Indian rail-sea freight train launched from northwest China's Shaanxi Province this year, according to the China Railway Xi'an Group Co., Ltd.

These solar products manufactured by a company in Shaanxi will mainly be used for the construction of local solar power stations in India. It will take about 20 days to transport the cargo to India via the rail-sea transport route.

The serious global epidemic situation still hinders the original transportation channels, therefore, the company chose the rail-sea combined mode to transport goods to destinations more efficiently, said Wang Yanli, marketing director of the company.

Bai Kuanfeng, director of the station, said that since the beginning of the year, the China Railway Xi'an Group Co., Ltd. has further strengthened the operation of trains in international freight transport to ensure efficient loading and transportation.

 

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Price volatility after import duty: Indian Solar developers have advanced step up module purchases from China​

February 23, 2022 1:35:24 am

Indian solar developers have advanced their module purchases from China for projects scheduled up to December quarter of 2022 to ward off the threat of price volatility expected after basic customs duty (BCD) kicks in on April 1. According to industry sources, India is estimated to import around 8 giga watt (GW) of modules from China in January-March 2022.

India’s domestic manufacturing capacity is around 20 GW and with an annual demand of over 30 GW. Domestic manufacturers are in for a huge shock as with an estimated shortage of 10 GW capacity, the prices of modules are expected to go up, making it difficult for projects lined up after June. Solar panel prices have already risen to the 27 cents per watt peak now from the lows of 20 cents/wp in early 2021.

The 11 GW projects cleared under the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM) will take around 18-24 months before they could compliment the current capacity. “The transition period is going to be volatilie as Indian projects are 85-90% dependent on Chinese panels and no foreign manufacturers have been approved as yet under ALMM,” said Puneet Goyal, co-founder of SunAlpha Energy. “We have already ordered our equipment for the projects lined up in the June quarter. There is going to be a severe shortage of panels after April till the capacities improve,” Goyal said.

Experts believe India is caught in a conundrum similar to the US – whether to give incentives to encourage local upstream manufacturing or to do away with module duties to enourage downstream project development. “They (US) have not been able to find the perfect balance. There were a few new module lines that were set up but not much progress has happened on upstream capacity for cells and wafers,” said a developer on the condition of anonymity.

Manish Narula, business development head for India & South Asia at Jinko Solar, said, “A greenfiled polysilicon plant takes anywhere between 2-3 years to fully ramp up and wafer plant around 18 months. Till the full ecosystem of polysilicon, wafer, cell and module develops is not set up in India, locally made modules will be at a premium since cells will need to come from outside India.”

Also, Indian developers of solar projects have investments from top global funds, who have clearly mandated use of high capacity panels – over 540 watt peak – in their projects. Barring a couple of Indian manufacturers, none have the technology to provide such panels. “It is worth questioning how India will meet these demands in the light of literally no foreign manufactuer approved by Indian government in the ALMM,” Narula said.

“The ministry of new and renewable energy has not given any timeline to audit Chinese factories even after holding ALMM fees worth crores of rupees from top Chinese players. It is an auditable question,” Narula said.