Waaree Energies, one of India’s largest PV module manufacturers, is significantly adding capacity to meet demand. Having already expanded capacity to 500MW it now plans to double that to 1GW over the next four months.
Waaree said that it had recently completed a 250MW module assembly expansion phase at its plant Surat, Gujarat, taking nameplate capacity to 500MW. The company claimed that as a result of the expansion it had become the largest single location for PV module manufacturing in India.
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Hitesh Doshi, chairman and managing director, Waaree Group said: “Last year, Waaree Energies managed to secure approximately 40% of module supply contract in the DCR (Domestic Content Requirement) category, under National Solar Mission Phase II tenders.”
However, Waaree noted that recent plans by the Indian government to raise the target of PV installations to 100GW by 2022 as well as demand from countries such as the UK and Europe in general as well as Japan and countries in Africa meant it would further expand capacity to 1,000MW over the next four months.
In November 2014, Waaree announced it was working with GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) on incorporating its new ‘Merlin’ cell interconnect technology into its existing module production lines.
Although details were not provided, Waaree reiterated that the new capacity expansion would incorporate ‘latest technology in solar industry to produce world class quality modules with reliable performance over its lifetime'.
Not surprisingly, several other PV manufacturers in India have announced intentions to expand capacity, including Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), which has plans on the drawing board, subject to financing, for a 500MW integrated PV manufacturing plant in Maharashtra.
The planned expansion by Waaree would make it the largest domestic PV producer in India.