Waaree to Premier Energies: Solar stocks slump up to 14% on US tariffs

Shares of Indian solar equipment manufacturers tumbled on Wednesday after the United States (US) imposed preliminary duties on solar imports on multiple countries.

Waaree Renewable Technologies fell as much as 6 per cent, while Waaree Energies and Premier Energies tumbled 14 per cent on Wednesday. Borosil Renewables slipped 1.5 per cent, and Vikram Solar declined 7 per cent. Meanwhile, the benchmark Nifty 50 index was up 0.57 per cent.

So far this year, solar stocks have underperformed the benchmark index. Waaree Energies and Premier Energies have fallen 9 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively. Vikram Solar is down 26 per cent, while the Nifty50 index has fallen 2 per cent this year.

The US set a 126 per cent preliminary duty on solar imports from India, while the Trump administration set initial duties from 86 per cent to 143 per cent for Indonesia and 81 per cent for Laos. The rates are based on a determination of foreign subsidies that the US says allowed exporters from the countries to undercut products from domestic solar producers.

India, Indonesia and Laos accounted for 57 per cent of solar-module imports to the US in the first half of 2025, according to a Bloomberg report. Solar imports from India in 2024 were valued at $792.6 million, more than 9 times the value in 2022, it added.

The relatively high levies will make the US market largely unavailable for Indian solar panel manufacturers, Bloomberg reported, quoting Citigroup Inc. analyst Vikram Bagri. The report added that the US Commerce Department is conducting a concurrent antidumping duty probe of solar cells imported from India, Indonesia and Laos.

India’s installed solar capacity stood at 136 Gigawatt (Gw) as of December 2025, compared with the government’s 280 Gw target for 2030, indicating a significant growth runway, Motilal Oswal said in an earlier report.

Beyond 2030, the brokerage expects annual solar module demand of 50-60 Gw, supported by rising power requirements and policy initiatives aimed at reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Motilal Oswal also noted that the Union Budget for 2026-27 announced a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies setting up data centres in India. Strong domestic demand for solar cells and modules is expected to create a favourable environment for higher exports once global tariff conditions improve, along with capacity expansion in allied segments such as batteries and inverters.