By Sethuraman N R
(Reuters) -Indian solar panel maker Waaree Energies said on Tuesday that it is “confident” about its exports to the United States and is prepared to address any potential anti-dumping investigation, after a coalition of solar manufacturers accused it of undercutting prices.
The U.S. Commerce Department is reviewing a petition filed on July 17 by a group of domestic U.S. solar companies seeking tariffs on imports from India, Indonesia and Laos.
The petition names Waaree among firms allegedly engaged in dumping low-cost panels to the detriment of U.S. manufacturers.
In its first statement since the petition, Waaree denied the allegations and said its pricing practices are transparent and compliant with regulations.
“We do not follow any predatory price practices, and therefore, as these investigations go through, we stand in a position of strength,” CEO Amit Paithankar told Reuters in an interview.
The company said it received 2.23 gigawatts of orders from the U.S. in the last quarter and is expanding its manufacturing footprint in the country to mitigate any impact from potential tariffs.
“If you are local to the U.S. from a manufacturing perspective, anti-dumping duties do not impact you as much,” Paithankar said, adding that Waaree is doubling its U.S. manufacturing capacity to 3.2 GW by the end of the year.
Despite growing regulatory scrutiny and policy shifts in the U.S. clean energy sector, Waaree said it sees no slowdown in solar exports due to power demand from data centers, manufacturing “reshoring”, and transportation electrification in the U.S.
“We also see a 100 GW order pipeline, with a significant portion from the U.S,” Paithankar said.
The company is exploring new markets aligned with India’s trade agreements and is open to both organic and inorganic growth, including acquisitions in adjacent sectors like battery storage and hydrogen, the CEO said.
(Reporting by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
