Chennai: Home-grown Tata Power has begun commercial production of solar cells at its massive manufacturing facility in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, the country’s largest single-location solar cell and module plant.
This is a significant milestone for the company which rolled out solar modules from the brand new manufacturing unit earlier this year.
The facility in Gangaikondan, 15 km from Tirunelveli city, features a 2 Giga Watt (GW) solar cell line and 2.3 GW module line and is equipped with advanced TOPCon and Mono Perc technology, enabling high-efficiency production of solar cells and modules.
Tata Power had in 2022 committed Rs 4,300 crore for the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility whose 80 per cent employees are women. The company calls the Gangaikondan plant a cornerstone of its strategy to lead India’s renewable energy transition, particularly in the solar rooftop and utility-scale segments, where it holds a 20 per cent market share.
The solar cell production, currently at 2 GW capacity, will enhance Tata Power’s ability to meet the growing demand for high-quality, and domestically produced solar components, especially for large-scale capacity-addition projects.
“The plant is expected to ramp up production with the remaining 2 GW capacity to be added over the next 4-6 weeks, reaching peak production within the next few months,” the company said, adding that that the module production line at the Tirunelveli plant was commissioned in October 2023 and has produced 1250 MW of solar modules till date.
“The commencement of cell production at our Tirunelveli plant is a significant step towards indigenisation in the solar value chain and achieving self-sufficiency. We are committed to making solar power accessible to all and ensuring a bright future for India, powered by renewable energy,” Dr Praveer Sinha, CEO and MD, Tata Power, said.
Tirunelveli and near-by Thoothukudi districts are emerging as a major hub for renewable energy with Sembcorp laying the foundation for setting up its green ammonia plant in the region at a cost of Rs 36,200 crore last month, and Leap Energy committing Rs 22,800 crore.
In addition to the existing facility, Tata Power has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to invest Rs 70,800 crores to expand its footprint in southern Tamil Nadu. and provide 3,800 jobs, while Leap Energy and Sembcorp will invest Rs 22,800 and Rs 36,200 crores respectively in green hydrogen projects in Thoothukudi.
While the modules produced from this factory are a part of the Government’s Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), the company is confident that its high-quality cells will also make it to the ALMM list for cells, expected to be announced by the Government soon.
The solar cells and modules produced at the Tamil Nadu facility will initially cater to the company’s ongoing projects, further strengthening its supply chain, the company said.
In addition to the Tirunelveli plant, the Company also operates a world-class manufacturing facility established in 1992 in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
This facility, equipped with cutting-edge technology, has a production capacity of 682 MW for solar modules and 530 MW for solar cells. To date, it has supplied a total of 3.73 GW of solar modules and 2.26 GW of solar cells.