Billionaire Gautam Adani's Group is planning to build 10 GW of integrated solar manufacturing capacity by 2027 as it looks to capture the energy transition business, according to people close to the company.
Adani Group currently has a solar manufacturing capacity of 4 GW.
Adani Solar has a confirmed order book of over 3,000 MW in exports that are to be serviced over the next 15 months, they said, adding that Adani, recently raised $394 million for solar manufacturing from Barclays PLC and Deutsche Banks AG through a trade finance facility.
While India scaled up its solar energy generation from 2.63 GW in March 2014 to 71.10 GW in July 2023, the manufacturing ecosystem did not match the pace.
To change, the government adopted a two-pronged strategy - used trade and non-trade barriers, such as safeguard duty, an approved list of module manufacturers (ALMM), and a production-linked incentive scheme.
This gave Indian solar manufacturing the necessary impetus to encourage private players like the Adani Group to scale up investments in the solar manufacturing sector.
After the success of Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) - the listed renewable energy generation entity of the group, Adani Enterprises Ltd. made strides in lining up and incubating solar PV manufacturing with Adani Solar in 2015.
Adani Solar commenced manufacturing in 2016, with a 1.2 GW cell and module manufacturing capacity. In less than 6 years, Adani Solar enhanced its manufacturing capacity by more than threefold to 4 GW module and 4 GW cell capacity today, making it one of the fastest-growing (in terms of capacity expansion) solar manufacturing companies.
Adani has built India's largest solar PV capacity for cells and modules at the Mundra SEZ, sources said, adding that since inception, Adani Solar has sold over 7 GW of modules, catering to both Indian and global demand.
As per Mercom's India solar market Leaderboard 2023, Adani Solar ranked among the top 3 solar module suppliers in 2022.
Adani Solar is now building the world's first fully integrated and comprehensive solar manufacturing ecosystem of 10 GW in Mundra, Gujarat, by 2027. It will be the group's largest manufacturing setup and is expected to create over 13,000 green jobs, they said.
The facility will play host to the entire solar manufacturing ecosystem, from metallurgical-grade silicon to PV modules, including ancillaries and supporting utilities, which are all geographically co-located.
With deep backward integration across the value-chain for modules, cells, ingots, wafers, polysilicon, and ancillaries - EVA, Backsheet, glass, aluminium frames, junction box and tracker, Adani Solar will boost India's position as the global solar manufacturing hub.
Adani Solar has been the early adopter of new technologies and has been at the forefront of implementing digital transformation, the above mentioned person said. The company's alliances with leading global institutes and certification laboratories like ISC, UNSW, PI Berlin, Fraunhofer, etc. have helped in strengthening its technology prowess.
India's solar cell and module exports by domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) stood at Rs 8,840 crore in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), which is a massive 364% jump from Rs 1,819 in FY22, according to rating agency ICRA.
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