No significant impact of US tariffs on RE equipment exports: MNRE Secy

MNRE Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi said US tariffs will not hit India's renewable exports due to low volumes, as the country pushes ahead with offshore wind and new projects

The government does not visualise any significant impact of the higher US tariffs on exports of renewable energy equipment from India, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy, said on Tuesday.

 

“Our exports of wind turbines to the US are not very high. In case of solar cells and panels too, our exports to the US market are not very high. So, there will be no major hit. Also, given the huge demand in the domestic market, there will be no significant impact of the higher US tariffs on the domestic industry,” Sarangi said while speaking to the media at an industry event here.

   

He added that the government will launch the bidding for the country’s first offshore wind energy project off the coast of Tamil Nadu in January 2026. “Based on the estimate from the initial LiDAR survey, a very good wind potential is suggested off the Tamil Nadu coast, and we expect a Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF) of almost 50 per cent, which is very high,” he said, speaking at the launch of a new report on India’s wind energy industry by the Global Wind Energy Council. 

 

With the initial few projects, the ministry is attempting to establish the technical and commercial feasibility of offshore wind projects, and the government will provide a Viability Gas Funding of around ₹7,000 crore for the project.

 

Speaking at the same event, renewable energy minister Pralhad Joshi said India’s wind energy capacity has jumped from 21GW in 2014 to 52.2GW at present, and projects of 30GW capacity are under various stages of implementation. In the current financial year, India is likely to install wind energy capacity between 6Gw and 7Gw.

 

According to the report, “Wind at the Core: Driving India’s Green Ambitions and International Influence”, India’s installed wind capacity can more than double to 107 Gw by 2030, in line with the state-level Resource Adequacy Plans.