US solar manufacturer First Solar has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Indian solar firm Cleantech Solar, which will see the latter build 150MW of new solar capacity in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Under the agreement, Cleantech Solar will commission the new project by the third quarter of 2024, alongside a 16.8MW wind farm in the same region. The company will also use modules from First Solar’s Series 7 thin film range, modules of which have a conversion efficiency of 18.1-19.3%, at the new project.
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In return, Cleantech Solar will sell the electricity generated at the project to First Solar for the next 15 years, which the US company plans to use to power a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. First Solar started operations at the manufacturing plant in September 2023, which boasts an annual production capacity of 3.3GW and includes a PV component recycling plant.
“Our new manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu sets a high benchmark for responsible and sustainable vertically integrated solar manufacturing, not just in India, but globally,” said Sujoy Ghosh, vice-president and managing director of First Solar India.
The deal will see Cleantech Solar expand the capacity of its renewables portfolio in Tamil Nadu to 500MW, and will diversify the manufacturing portfolio of First Solar, which historically has been largely focused on the US. Last July, the company announced plans to build its fifth manufacturing facility in the US, with an annual production capacity of 3.5GW, and the signing of a solar PPA in India will expand the company’s global footprint.
The news follows AmpIn and Jupiter’s announcement of plans to build a solar cell and module manufacturing plant in India with a capacity of 1.3GW, as interest in the Indian solar sector grows. Last December, Indian rating agency ICRA noted that India’s renewables capacity will increase to 170GW by March 2025, up from 132GW as of October 2023, and the sustained growth in the country’s solar sector will help realise this forecast.