I believe Africa will emerge as an attractive place for India. Not only module exports, but also project exports, where people can go and set up projects as RESCO developers, the secretary stated.

Under RESCO, a firm builds, operates, and maintains a solar energy system on a customer's property. The customer pays the RESCO for the power generated and benefits from net metering, which includes decreased electricity bills and credits for excess energy. This is consistent with the energy services firm concept of the state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Limited.

 

Through the International Solar Alliance, India has played an important role in Africa's energy transition. In September, the global body, backed by India and France, unveiled the $200 million 'Africa Solar Facility' initiative to spur renewable energy projects on the continent.

 

The US levied a countervailing penalty of up to 126% on solar module exports from India, Indonesia, and Laos over alleged subsidies they offered to domestic manufacturers, making American products less competitive than imported supplies.

 

While highlighting the construction of new markets for Indian solar technology, the secretary stated that Indian solar exporters would need to be price competitive globally. China, the dominating actor in the solar equipment ecosystem, is now the largest supplier to Africa.

 

Currently, the United States is India's largest market for solar exports. According to commerce ministry data, of India's solar module exports of $981.18 million during the April-December period of FY26, modules worth $954.4 million, or over 97%, were exported to the United States. Kenya and Nigeria are among the other countries that import solar modules from India.

 

According to Sehul Bhatt, director of Crisil Intelligence, the US tax will cause volatile trade patterns for Indian exports until the final rate is established in July 2026, making it difficult for enterprises to negotiate restricted market prospects in the face of increased supply. Companies have made significant investments in this subject. Mint reports that investments of ₹30,000 crore are projected in FY27 to develop around 50GW of cell production capacity. Cells are assembled to form modules. Currently, India's cell production capacity is approximately 30GW.

 

Concerns about module overstock have been raised recently. In a November analysis, ratings firm ICRA warned of potential industry overcapacity in the solar module sector, as annual module manufacturing (60-65GW) is likely to surpass yearly installations (45-50GW direct current).

 

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy stated in December that financial institutions should be well-informed when reviewing loan offers for solar panel plants. It further stated that lenders' portfolios should comprise upstream stages such as solar cells, ingots-wafers, polysilicon, and ancillary components such as power modules, solar glass and aluminum frames,energy transmission in addition to solar module facilities.