Renewable energy capacity addition tumbles 49% during Apr-Feb period

Renewable energy capacity addition tumbled 49 per cent during April-February period of FY 19 to 6000 Mw compared with 11,800 Mw added in the same period of 2017-18, data sourced from the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) showed.

Though tariffs for both, solar and wind power, fell to historic lows of Rs 2.44 per unit, the lack of clarity in policies for the renewable energy sector affected fresh capacity addition. The deadlock on the duty structure cleared recently when the government on April 1, 2019, levied an anti-dumping duty of up to $1559 per tonne on a certain kind of sheet used in solar cell making. The levy would apply to imports from China, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand. The anti-dumping duty, to be valid for five years, is seen as a protectionist step to safeguard the interests of local producers from the swarm of cheap imports.