Indian solar manufacturer Premier Energies has secured an INR 2 billion (US$27 million) investment from private equity firm GEF Capital Partners to support its planned increases in cell and module production.
Hyderabad-based Premier will use the funds to add an additional 2GW of manufacturing capacity for both cells and modules based on mono PERC technology. The company said it is also looking to invest more than INR 12 billion (US$162 million) over the next two years to further expand its operations.
“We are excited to have a credible partner like GEF Capital on board and the timing of investment is critical for us to capitalise on the huge growth potential presented by the industry,” said Surender Pal Singh, chairman of Premier Energies.
The funding boost comes two months after Premier Energies opened a 1.5GW integrated PV manufacturing plant in Hyderabad that has allowed the company to triple its production capacity.
Thanks in part to government measures to support domestic solar manufacturers – including a basic customs duty on modules that will come into effect next year, a domestic content requirement and the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme – Premier Energies said India’s solar cell manufacturing sector has “lately witnessed unprecedented interest” from investors.
“We are extremely upbeat about the progressive policy changes brought about by GOI [government of India] in this sector,” said Premier Energies founder and managing director, Chiranjeev Saluja.
Premier Energies is one of 18 companies that has bid to receive government support to set up solar manufacturing plants through the PLI scheme, according to consultancy JMK Research & Analytics. The policy will allocate around US$603 million over five years to support the addition of 10GW of integrated solar PV manufacturing plants in India.