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Tycoon drives India’s push against China’s solar-energy dominance

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By illuminem briefings

· 2 min read


illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Wall Street Journal or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: The Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, is expanding India’s domestic solar industry to lessen dependence on Chinese imports, a mission complicated by the high costs and lower quality of Indian-made solar components
Despite ambitious government subsidies and protectionist tariffs on Chinese solar products, India faces challenges in building a fully self-reliant solar supply chain

🔭 The context: India aims to install 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, with solar power expected to account for nearly half of this target
However, 80% of global solar manufacturing is controlled by China, leaving India dependent on imports for critical raw materials, including polysilicon, where China vastly outpaces Indian production

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: India's efforts to meet its renewable energy goals are crucial for global decarbonization, as the country’s energy demand surges with economic growth
Relying on domestic production could slow India’s green energy transition, potentially increasing global emissions if fossil fuel use grows to meet demand

⏭️ What's next: India’s localization mandates are likely to persist, with potential future rules requiring domestic solar cell production
Adani and other large firms may continue balancing between using local and imported components to keep costs manageable, though this approach could delay renewable capacity growth

💬 One quote: “The intent of the government is to make everything in India…The public is paying more because you are not importing, you are using expensive domestic modules,” - Nikhil Nigania, analyst at Bernstein

📈 One stat: Domestic solar panels in India are priced around 18 cents per watt—almost double the cost of Chinese-made panels

Click for more news covering the latest on renewable energy

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