G BALACHANDAR CHENNAI

Tata Power Group starts solar module production at Tamil Nadu

facility

Tata Power Group’s arm Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd has started
commercial production of solar modules from its new plant in Tamil Nadu, with
the solar cell production set to commence next month. This development is
expected to boost several capacity-addition projects that require locally
manufactured products.

Located at Gangaikondan, Tirunelveli District in southern Tamil Nadu, the new

solar cell and module facility of Tata Power Renewable Energy produced about
130 MW of modules in the March 2024 quarter. The manufacturing operations are
expected to stabilise within three months, with the factory reaching its peak
capacity of 4.3 GW in the subsequent quarter. “We will start then producing 100
per cent domestically manufactured cell and module, which is a requirement for
many of the bids excluding the rooftop programme of the government,” Praveer
Sinha, MD and CEO, Tata Power said during the company’s Q4FY24 earnings call.
Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd had announced that it would increase
investment in the existing agreement with the Tamil Nadu government, signed on
July 4, 2022, to set up 4 GW of solar cells and solar modules, with an investment of
₹3,000 crore, in two phases in Gangaikondan in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu.

Expansion plans

The expansion will include the upgradation of the infrastructure and setting up of
an additional 300 MW each of cell and module lines using the latest TOPCon
technology, bringing the total plant capacity to 4.3 GW. As per the new MoU, this
project will entail an additional investment of ₹800 crore over the next two years.

The modules produced in Tamil Nadu will be used to meet the captive
requirements of the company initially. As of now, it has su!cient contracts for the
current module capacity. As and when it ramps up, it will look at the opportunity
of selling outside.

The management indicated that the company was maintaining its leadership
position in the solar rooftop EPC segment. It has already installed more than 2 GW
of rooftop solar in the country. So, we have the largest penetration with a 20 per
cent market share. There is a huge gap between us and the next big player. And
we expect that we will maintain our leadership,” said Sinha.

With the PM Surya Ghar Yojana programme, the company expects to boost its play
With the PM Surya Ghar Yojana programme, the company expects to boost its play
on solar rooftops in the coming months.

The rooftop solar market has grown at a CAGR of 17 per cent in the past 4 years
and currently, India has 14.5 GW of installed solar rooftop capacity.

The expansion will include the upgradation of the infrastructure,

setting up of an additional 300 MW each of cell and module lines
using the latest TOPCon technology