First Solar plans $684mn investment in TN facility
The company intends to set up a 3.3GW plant, which will start functioning in the second half of 2023
NEW DELHI: Attracted by India’s green economy, US headquartered First Solar on Friday announced its plans to invest $684 million for setting up a 3.3 gigawatt (GW) solar module manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu.
Mint had reported about First Solar among firms that are considering to build solar equipment manufacturing facilities capitalizing on the Indian government’s initiative to push local manufacturing.
“First Solar Inc. today announced that it intends to invest $684 million in a new, fully vertically-integrated photovoltaic (PV) thin film solar module manufacturing facility in India. Contingent upon permitting, and pending approval of Indian government incentives that are satisfactory to First Solar, the advanced facility is expected to commence operations in the second half of 2023,” the company said in a statement.
Despite running the world’s largest clean energy programme, India has a domestic manufacturing capacity of only 3GW for solar cells and 15GW for solar modules and heavily depends on imports from China. India’s solar equipment space is dominated by Chinese firms such as Trina Solar Ltd, Jinko Solar, ET Solar, Chint Solar and GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd.
“India stands apart in the decisiveness of its response to China’s strategy of state-subsidized global dominance of the crystalline silicon solar supply chain. The country’s comprehensive approach provides precisely the kind of level playing field needed for non-Chinese solar manufacturers to compete on their own merits, and should be a template for other likeminded nations. We’re very pleased to be able to support the sustainable energy ambitions of a major US ally in the Indo-Pacific region with American-designed solar technology,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar in the statement.
The interest from firms such as Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures promoted 1366 Technologies and First Solar comes in the backdrop of ₹4,500 crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for solar PV modules will help India ramp up its domestic manufacturing capacity. The scheme is expected to add 10 GW capacity of integrated solar PV manufacturing plants and bring direct investment of around ₹17,200 crore.
Wafers and ingots—building blocks for manufacturing solar cells and modules—are key to India’s ambitious clean energy plans.
“Unique among the world’s ten largest solar manufacturers for being the only US-headquartered company, for not using a crystalline silicon (c-Si) semiconductor, and for not manufacturing in China, First Solar produces its thin film PV modules using a fully integrated, continuous process under one roof and does not rely on Chinese c-Si supply chains,” the statement said.
The government is also turning the screws on Chinese solar power equipment manufacturers, with no Chinese firm granted permission to feature in the approved list of solar PV models.