Waaree Energies expands module manufacturing capacity to 2 GW

India possesses almost 11 GW of domestic solar module production capacity and around 3 GW of cell output annually. With a national goal of 100 GW of solar generation capacity by 2022, the creation of a domestic manufacturing base is of critical significance for the country which currently imports almost 85% of the 10 GW of PV equipment it consumes annually.

September 25, 2019 Uma Gupta

There has been demand for a comprehensive manufacturing policy to set out a clear direction to promote solar manufacturing in India.

Image: Orb Energy

Mumbai-based solar module manufacturer Waaree Energies has expanded its module manufacturing capacity to 2 GW from 1.5 GW. The manufacturing facility based in Gujarat is now upgraded to production capacity of 5.7 MW per day.

The demand for solar energy has seen an uptake in the recent years with the current requirement holding strong at 25 GW. However, various policy driven and geo-political factors have impacted the growth of the Indian solar manufacturing segment.

“Waaree aims to bridge this demand-supply gap and inch towards a viable indigenous ecosystem. The recent expansion reinforces Waaree’s position as the largest solar module manufacturer in India, and creates 550 direct and 350 indirect jobs in the sector”—read a company statement.

Waaree Energies Director-Sales & Marketing Sunil Rathi said, “We have already supplied over 2.5 GW of solar panels till date, and commissioned over 600 MW of solar EPC projects in India.”

“With the recent expansion touching 2 GW, we foresee creating jobs in the surrounding villages, largely employing the blue-collar workforce,” he added.

Significance

With a national goal of 100 GW of solar generation capacity by 2022, and of eventually supplying 40% of Indian electricity from clean energy sources, the creation of a domestic manufacturing base is of critical significance for India.

“The nation currently imports almost 85% of the 10 GW of PV equipment it consumes annually, despite possessing almost 11 GW of domestic solar module production capacity and around 3 GW of cell output,” stated a recent policy paper by sustainability thinktank The Energy and Resources Institute.

“Many of those facilities, however, sit idle as they are obsolete, sub-scale and uncompetitive with cheaper Far Eastern imports,” it added.

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