Adani Solar (Mundra Solar PV Ltd.), the solar PV manufacturing and EPC arm of Adani Group, is evaluating a 2 GW cell and module expansion at its manufacturing facility in Mundra, Gujarat. This is to strengthen its position as India’s largest and most technologically advanced player with a total capacity of 3.5 GW of high efficiency cells and modules, an Adani Group spokesperson said.
The capacity is expected to come on line by 2021. At present, Adani Solar is India’s largest integrated solar cell and module manufacturer with a capacity of 1.5 GW. The proposed capacity addition is in anticipation of domestic demand of 10-12 GW in 2021. Currently, Indian firms have 3 GW of cell and about 9-10 GW of module manufacturing capacity. Today, a bulk of the solar modules used in projects are imported from China.
“This large-capacity, single-location plant will also provide us remarkable supply chain benefits, further enhancing our competitiveness and cost efficiency and help us achieve price parity with Chinese manufacturers,” the spokesperson said.
“With the GoI initiatives to prevent dumping of low cost/low quality modules in India providing domestic manufacturers with a level-playing field, we aim to make solar power accessible to every household and have established a robust channel partner network for retail sales all over India. We have also partnered with various pump manufacturers to enable us to serve the KUSUM scheme enabling electrification of India’s agricultural pumps,” he added.
Without quantifying the planned investment, the spokesperson said, “Adani Group has committed that 70% of its energy-related capex will be spent on renewables and we will be establishing the world’s largest portfolio of renewable power over the coming years.”
As part of the company’s business growth strategy, we continue to evaluate multiple expansion strategies. An opportune business environment is pivotal to our expansion plan,” he said.
Post-expansion, the company is looking at a direct employment of around 5,000 people and Indirect employment of almost 70,000 people in the country. The plant will also also spur development in India’s supplier ecosystem and provide support to various players across the value chain, the company said.
Currently it exports to the U.S., Australia and major parts of Europe. With the new expansion, it is poised to significantly expand its exports.
“We want to cater to the most demanding markets in terms of technology and module efficiency requirements and capture a significant chunk of the value currently being enjoyed by the Chinese players,” the spokesperson added.
The company aims to be the most cost-effective producer of advanced solar modules in the country which will help reduce the country’s import dependence on China and other SEA countries to fulfil the nation’s 100-GW solar target by 2022.
