Solar Stocks Plummet Amid US Tariffs, Waaree Energies and Premier Energies Suffer Significant Declines

Indian Solar Stocks Plummet After US Imposes Steep Countervailing Duties

Waaree Energies and Premier Energies led the decline in Indian solar and renewable energy stocks, falling up to 15 percent in early trade on Wednesday. Waaree Energies shares slid as much as 14.6 percent to Rs 2,580.5 by around 9:30 am, extending losses from the lower circuit hit earlier in the session. Premier Energies stock was down over 12 percent at Rs 681.3.

The sharp selling was triggered by the US Commerce Department's decision to levy preliminary countervailing duties of about 126 percent on solar cell and panel imports from India, citing unfair government subsidies. The duties are part of a broader trade case covering imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos.

Other solar stocks also traded lower, with Vikram Solar falling nearly 7 percent, Waaree Renewable Technologies declining over 6 percent, Solex Energy slipping close to 5 percent, and Saatvik Green Energy down nearly 3 percent. Borosil Renewables fell over 1 percent. In contrast, Servotech Renewable Power System was marginally higher, while Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy traded mildly lower.

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The US Commerce Department set subsidy rates at 125.87 percent for India, 104.38 percent for Indonesia, and 80.67 percent for Laos. The action follows a petition filed last year by the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, which includes Hanwha Qcells, First Solar, and Mission Solar, seeking relief from what it described as unfairly subsidised imports.

Imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos were valued at about $4.5 billion last year, accounting for nearly two-thirds of total US solar imports in 2022, according to trade data cited by the department. The current ruling marks the first of two determinations in the case, with the Commerce Department due to issue a separate decision next month on whether exporters from the three countries sold products in the US market at prices below their production costs.