Solar manufacturer Premier Energies and renewables developer Azure Power will jointly invest INR 700 crore ($89.6 million) to set up a 1.25 GW solar cell and module facility in Telangana.
Premier will supply 2.4 GW of solar modules to Azure over the next four years. The order value has been estimated at more than INR 4,000 crore. The company said it would build the factory according to global standards.
“A portion of the total INR 700 crore investment is debt. So Azure will have 26% of the total equity after deducting the debt,” Chiranjeev Saluja, managing director of Premier Energies, told pv magazine. “Unlike GEF, which is a private equity investor in this facility, Azure is a strategic partner that is not only investing but also has an order book.”
The Azure investment in the Premier facility is part of its commitment in return for the capacity won under Solar Energy Corp. of India’s manufacturing-linked tender. The auction saw the developer secure 4 GW of solar projects in return for committing to set up 1 GW worth of cell and module production lines.
“We have secured order book [from Azure] for four years. Further supply will be mutually extended as the SECI tender mandates Azure to have an equity stake of a minimum of 26% in the manufacturing project for eight years,” said Saluja.
Image: Premier Energies
Premier’s Telangana facility will produce 540 W mono PERC modules with M10 cells and 660 W modules with G12 cells.
Azure Power developed India’s first utility-scale solar project in 2009. Since then, it has become a leader in developing and operating large utility-scale renewable energy projects in the country. It has already invested INR 630 crore in Telangana and operates 128 MW of solar power projects in the state.
Premier Energies, incorporated in 1995, is purportedly India’s second-largest integrated solar cell and module manufacturer. It has state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad, with an operational capacity of 750 MW of solar cells and 1.25 GW of solar modules. It recently raised $25.8 million from GEF Capital Partners. It is currently focused on expanding its manufacturing facilities and will have operating capacities of 2 GW of cells and 2 GW of modules by December 2022.
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