A Year-on-year Increase Of 19%! Large-scale PV Installation Costs in India 'surge' in Q1 2022

According to the Indian PV market report for the first quarter of 2022 released by Mercom India Research, the average cost of large-scale PV systems installed in the quarter is about 43.5 million rupees/MW (about $560,512/MW).

The average cost of large-scale PV systems installed in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 19% compared to Rs 36.6 million/MW (about $471,603/MW) in the same period last year. This is an increase of 1.4% compared to the fourth quarter of last year, when the cost was around Rs 42.9 million/MW (~$552,899/MW).

India installed 2.7GW of large-scale PV systems in Q1 2021, a 23% increase from the 2.2GW installed in Q4 2020 and a 53% increase from 1.75GW in Q1 2020. During the reporting period, large-scale PV systems accounted for 85% of all PV systems and rooftop PV accounted for 15%.

While large-scale PV systems installed in the first quarter of 2022 will cost between Rs 40.6 million/MW (~$523,256/MW) to Rs 45.9 million/MW (~$591,563/MW), depending on the PV modules used .

The report indicated that the average selling price of polycrystalline PV modules produced in China in the first quarter of 2022 rose by 25% compared to the same period last year. Likewise, the average selling price of mono PERC modules increased by 20% compared to the first quarter of 2021.

The average selling price of polycrystalline PV modules produced in India increased by 26% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, and the average selling price of monocrystalline PERC photovoltaic modules in India also increased by 20% compared with the first quarter of 2021 .

With India's Basic Customs Duty (BCD) coming into effect on April 1, 2022, many PV developers have stockpiled 10GW of PV modules in the first quarter of 2022 alone. This move is expected to keep PV system costs relatively stable in phases.

However, as Indian PV module manufacturers rely mainly on PV cells imported from China, the industry expects the overall cost of PV projects in India to increase significantly.

Another move that could increase the cost of PV systems is the proposal by the Directorate-General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) of India to extend anti-dumping duties on textured tempered glass (photovoltaic glass) imported from China for another two years.

The Directorate-General of Trade Remedy (DGTR) of India has also proposed imposing a five-year anti-dumping duty on imported fluorinated backsheets originating in or exported from China. If these proposals are accepted, the cost of PV modules using imported PV glass and fluorine-containing backsheets will increase, ultimately increasing the overall cost of PV projects.