Tata Power to build India's largest wafer and ingot manufacturing plant

Tata Power, India's largest solar ingots and wafers manufacturer, plans to build a 10 gigawatt manufacturing facility. This is according to the chief executive Praveer sinha.

Tata Power would be present in the entire manufacturing chain of solar cells with the facility that makes the wafers and ingots, the foundational materials for solar cells. Tata Power already has 4.9GW of integrated module and cell-making capacity.

As the U.S. tariffs for Indian products increased, solar module exports became less attractive.

Sinha, on a call after earnings, said that India already has an adequate supply of modules. He also noted that many cell plants were under construction. This was to justify his company's plans to build a wafers-and-ingots factory.

Adani Group, so far, has built a factory that produces 2 GW ingots and wafers per year.

Tata Power plans are in line with the Indian government's efforts to increase the use of locally produced ingots and waxes for the manufacture of solar panels. This will reduce the reliance on Chinese imports towards the end decade.

The government plans to offer financial assistance for the production of wafers and ingots.

Sinha stated that Tata Power was exploring federal and state financial assistance for the new plant. He added that a decision on the total investment will be made within the next two month.

Tata Power also wants to get into nuclear power generation, as India is aiming to build at least 100 gigawatts by 2047. This is up from the current 8 gigawatts.

(source: Reuters)