Waaree triples solar panel capacity with a new plant in Gujarat

Waaree Energies has set up a 1 GW solar PV panel plant in Vapi, which is in addition to its existing 500 MW plant in Surat, Gujarat. The company intends to further increase capacity to 2 GW. Among other key developments, it has partnered with third-party equipment suppliers to manufacture batteries

June 19, 2018 Uma Gupta

Waaree also has 200 MW of EPC projects in the pipeline.

Image: AES

Waaree Energies has opened a 1 GW facility in Vapi, Gujarat, which has tripled its solar PV module manufacturing capacity in India. It already has a 500 MW plant in Surat, Gujarat, and is currently producing more than 4 MW of solar panels every day. The plan is to increase capacity to 2 GW soon, reports LiveMint.

In another significant development, Waaree has partnered with third-party equipment suppliers to manufacture batteries. “We shall provide energy storage solutions for utility-scale (grid-connected) storage products globally as well as for retail solutions in lead-acid as well as lithium-ion batteries,” Sunil Rathi, director of sales and marketing at Waaree Energies, was quoted as saying.

Recently, RAASI Solar Power signed an agreement with the government-run Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI) under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) to set up India’s first indigenous Li-ion battery manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. The technology has been developed by researchers at CECRI.

According to the latest Bridge to India report, Waaree was among the top three domestic PV module manufacturers in Q1 2018 with a volume of 84 MW. It was preceded by Mundra (200 MW) and Vikram Solar (166 MW). India’s domestic PV module manufacturing volume in the quarter was 821 MW, up by 19% over previous quarter.

Last year, Waaree Energies was in the news for raising approximately US$15 million (INR 1 billion) through a structured financing deal with a group of investors led by Centrum Financial Services.

Headquartered in Mumbai, Waaree also provides engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions for solar PV power plants. The company’s focus is on rooftop solar installations. It has a network of 250 franchises across India, which it plans to increase to 1,000 by end-2018. Waaree also has 200 MW of EPC projects in the pipeline.

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