[Insight] Effective November 1! Chinese PV and Wind Power Companies Face Dual Challenges—How to Break Through?

On November 1, 2025, the new import regulations from India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) are set to take effect. This policy adjustment, widely regarded in the industry as "targeted control," combined with the previous anti-dumping duties imposed by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), is imposing a "double shackle" on Chinese photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy companies deeply entrenched in the Indian market. What exactly are the intricacies hidden in these new regulations? How will they impact Chinese companies? And how can they break through?

Decoding the New Regulations: The Control Logic Behind Import Registration

The new regulations introduced by India may seem like just "an additional registration procedure," but they actually conceal precise controls over the renewable energy supply chain, with core points summarized as "two categories of products and three layers of restrictions."

The control scope targets core components: In the solar sector, everything from the "skin" of PV modules (tempered safety glass) to the "heart" (photosensitive semiconductor devices, including solar cells) is included in the registration requirements. In the wind energy sector, key structural and transmission components such as towers, bearing housings, and gearboxes are also not spared. These are precisely the advantageous export categories for Chinese companies—solar cells alone have long dominated a major share of India's import market.

The registration rules hide operational barriers: The new regulations require importers to complete registration in the "Renewable Energy Equipment Import Monitoring System," with different rules for various transportation methods: Sea freight must lock in designated ports, while air and land freight can share registrations across multiple batches but require advance applications, with a validity period of only three months. This means companies must restructure their logistics plans and assign dedicated teams to handle registration renewals, significantly increasing administrative costs.

The policy combination forms a closed-loop control: Notably, the new regulations do not exist in isolation. As early as September 2025, DGTR imposed up to 30% anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar cells for three years, while solar glass faces even heavier duties of 50%-90%. The combination of registration controls and high tariffs essentially compresses import space through "procedural obstacles + cost escalation."

The underlying motivations are not hard to understand. India is vigorously promoting its "Make in India" initiative, investing over $11.3 billion in subsidies for domestic capacity through the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in the PV sector alone. As of June 2025, India has achieved 18.5 GW of PV module capacity and 9.7 GW of solar cell capacity, with imports down 36% from three years ago. The new regulations are complementary measures to "protect and escort" the growth of local industries.

Chinese Companies Under Pressure: Dual Blows from Declining Orders and Soaring Costs

For Chinese PV and wind energy companies heavily reliant on the Indian market, the impact of the new regulations is already showing signs, which can be divided into three major levels:

PV companies face "volume and price double kill": The synergistic effects of anti-dumping duties and the new registration regulations are directly reflected in the data—In the second quarter of 2025, India's imports of solar modules and cells plummeted 35.6% from the previous quarter. Chinese companies bear the brunt: On one hand, the 30% anti-dumping duty directly erodes profits, and when combined with over 50% tariffs on solar glass, costs for some module products rise by more than 15%; on the other hand, the registration process extends delivery timelines, leading many Indian project owners to switch to local suppliers or third-country products to mitigate risks. Leading companies are still under pressure, while SMEs face the dilemma of "either accepting shrinking profits or losing orders."

Wind energy companies face the risk of "market loss": Chinese wind energy companies had made breakthroughs in the Indian market, with companies like Envision Energy achieving a 45% market share. However, the new regulations include core components like towers and gearboxes in registration, coupled with India's implicit rules requiring foreign turbine manufacturers to use local parts, putting double pressure on Chinese component exports. Some companies report that previously negotiated 1.2 GW wind power component orders have been put on hold due to client concerns over registration delays.

Supply chain layouts fall into a "dilemma": The previously common "third-country transshipment" strategy for Chinese companies is now unsustainable. The U.S. has recently included countries like India and Indonesia in PV anti-dumping investigations, accusing them of "helping Chinese companies evade tariffs," effectively blocking transshipment routes through Southeast Asia and South Asia to India. While setting up factories directly in India can bypass restrictions, it involves stringent tax audits and localization requirements. Companies like Envision Energy have had to expand factories in India and double their local workforce to 6,000, requiring massive upfront investments.

Paths to Breakthrough: From Passive Response to Proactive Layout

In the face of policy changes in the Indian market, Chinese companies are not without options. Leading companies have explored three viable paths that can serve as references for the industry:

Deepen localized operations and integrate into the local ecosystem: This is the most direct way to counter policy barriers. Envision Energy's practices are exemplary; over nine years of operations in India, it has deployed 60 projects, built a third factory, expanded local hiring, and co-built supply chains with Indian companies, raising its localization rate to over 70%. This not only stabilized its 45% market share but also secured support from India's PLI program. For PV companies, this model can be emulated by forming joint ventures with local Indian energy groups and using domestic capacity to avoid import restrictions.

Optimize compliance management to reduce procedural costs: For the new registration regulations, companies need to establish specialized response mechanisms in advance. Drawing from BIS certification experiences, prepare full sets of materials like product specifications and certificates of origin ahead of time, and accelerate the registration process (typically 4-6 weeks for review) through local Indian compliance consulting firms. At the same time, optimize logistics planning by concentrating sea freight at designated ports and consolidating air/land freight batches to share registrations, minimizing time costs to the greatest extent.

Diversify markets to reduce dependence on India: While under pressure in the Indian market, many companies have accelerated exploration of alternative markets. JA Solar has increased its Middle East order share to 20% through partnerships with international giants like Masdar; JinkoSolar has deepened its presence in emerging markets like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, securing over 4.6 GW in orders. For companies, controlling the Indian market share to within 15% while expanding into Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and other regions can effectively diversify policy risks.

Conclusion: Finding New Opportunities Amid Challenges

India's policy adjustments are essentially an inevitable choice under its dual goals of "industrial protection + energy transition." In the short term, the impact on Chinese companies is unavoidable. However, in the long term, to achieve its 2030 target of 500 GW non-fossil energy installed capacity, India still relies on global supply chains—its current domestic PV cell capacity is only 9.7 GW, far from meeting demand, leaving market space for Chinese companies.

For Chinese companies, this test is both pressure and motivation. By enhancing global operational capabilities through localized layouts, strengthening risk control via compliance management, and diversifying dependencies through market expansion, they can not only cope with short-term fluctuations in the Indian market but also accumulate core competencies for participating in global new energy competition. After all, in the broader trend of energy transition, true competitiveness will ultimately transcend policy barriers.

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