Costlier cells from China jolt Indian solar supply chains

(Representative image)

• Indian solar module makers face rising costs due to surging Chinese cell prices
• Silver price volatility and Chinese New Year worsen supply chain disruptions
• Some firms may delay projects or incur extra costs to maintain operations

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Surging prices of solar cells from China are rattling Indian module makers who depend on the neighboring nation for the essential component.

Volatile prices of silver, a key electricity conductor, are making cells unaffordable to some Indian businesses, according to Avinash Hiranandani, managing director at RenewSys India Pvt., which operates 2.5 gigawatts of module assembly capacity. The looming holidays for the Chinese New Year have also put suppliers on a wait and watch mode, he said.

Suppliers have been reluctant to share quotations for cells in the past month, or they have been asking for 10%-15% more than usual, Hiranandani said in a phone interview. “They said they will come back in the market after the new year holidays, but that could be too late” to avoid disruptions in the supply chain, he added.

Tensions in India reflect the current struggles of Chinese firms. Beijing has removed export tax rebates, pushing the industry, saddled by overcapacity, to increase product prices. A recent surge in silver prices has made the situation worse.

India has been expanding its module making capacity to reduce its dependence on China, but it continues to rely on its neighbor for most upstream products, including cells and machinery to assemble the panels. A jump in the price of those components challenges module makers and in turn the power generators they cater to, who are required to supply power at a fixed price.

Solar developers can choose to delay their projects by a few months until module prices come down, but manufacturers would have to keep their plants idle until then, Hiranandani said.

Meanwhile, the company is left with just enough cells to last this month. To keep operations running, Hiranandani said RenewSys is considering flying in the cargoes next month at additional expense.

To be sure, this is a short-term problem that doesn’t affect all companies equally.

“It’s more of a price issue that a supply issue,” Sameer Gupta, chairman at Jakson Ltd., which runs a module plant on the outskirts of New Delhi. “There’s price volatility, that’s a fact, and it’s hurting those companies more that hadn’t planned in advance.”

Gupta said manufacturers that have both utilities and rooftop solar users as customers can navigate the current challenges better, as rooftop contracts typically allow for regular price adjustments.