Scatec and ACME put $400 mln India solar development on hold (updated)

Acme United

03/02/2022 08:18

(Adds details on India investment and tax policy)
    OSLO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Norway's Scatec  SSOL.OL  and
India's ACME have decided to put a 900-megawatt (MW) $400
million solar power project in India on hold due to supply chain
bottlenecks and rising import duties, the Norwegian company said
on Thursday.
    Scatec entered the Indian market last year by partnering
with ACME to build the plant in the state of Rajasthan under a
25-year power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation
of India (SECI).
    The plant was expected to be completed in 2022 but building
work had not yet begun.    
    "Scatec and ACME have decided to put the 900 MW project in
India on hold due to lack of supply of domestic solar panels and
a 40% import duty on solar panels to be imposed from April 1,"
Scatec said in its quarterly earnings report.
    India, once of the fastest growing renewable markets in the
world, has decided to levy customs duties on solar modules and
solar cells to cut its dependence on China-made imports and
boost local manufacturing.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2L71VA
    On Tuesday, India announced it was allocating $2.62 billion
to boost investment in solar equipment manufacturing as the
country seeks to deploy 280-gigawatt of solar capacity by
2030. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2UC0AL

 (Reporting by Nerijsu Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik and
Elaine Hardcastle)
 ((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com; +47 918 666 70))