‘Solar panel costs may rise due to volatile metal prices, supply uncertainties’

COIMBATORE: The continuous volatility in metal prices and supply uncertainties might end up in a slight hike in the costs of solar panels, said R Chellapan, whole-time director and vice-chairman of SWELECT Energy Systems Limited, on Thursday.

He said, “The price of silver has shot up, resulting in an increase in the panel cost. Also, the countries we are currently importing cells from are removing the export incentives.” Chellapan was speaking at an industry roundtable held here ahead of the 10th edition of the RenewX 2026 that will be conducted in Chennai by Informa Markets from April 27 to 29. According to him, China holds about 90% of the global market in terms of cells, and it has reduced its export incentives in four phases from 17% to 3%.

“So, cell prices are going to rise by another 6%. Further, the 5% upward increase in the dollar point of view is another reason for the price increase. This means the user is going to suffer a price hike to an extent of 15%. But this is a temporary phenomenon,” he said. Talking to TOI on the sidelines of the event, Rajneesh Khattar, senior group director - energy and construction portfolio, Informa Markets India, said Tamil Nadu has emerged as a pioneer in the adoption of clean energy and positioned itself at the forefront of India’s transition towards renewable sources.

“The energy demand for the future is going to be huge. So renewable energy has a lot of scope for investment in the next 10 to 15 years.

India, located in the tropical zone, has a lot of potential for exploring geothermal energy, for which India has so far explored nothing. Another sector is offshore energy in which most of the European countries, like France, Denmark and Germany, are forerunners. Indian coastlines have high potential for this, but due to their expensive operation and maintenance costs, there is still a lag in their adoption,” he said.