Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries is close to acquiring solar module manufacturer REC Group, according to media reports in India, as part of the conglomerate’s expansion into the renewable energy sector.
The deal could be worth as much as US$1.2 billion, with India-based Reliance in discussions with banks to raise US$500 – 600 million in financing, newspaper the Economic Times reports.
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“We are not responding to the media speculations,” said a spokesperson from REC Group in written comments sent to PV Tech. Reliance Industries didn’t respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
REC Group, whose CEO left the company earlier this year, started mass production of heterojunction solar cells and modules at its manufacturing complex in Singapore in 2019, taking its total module capacity in the country to 1.8GW annually, the company said at the time.
REC has since launched the second generation of its n-type TOPCon cell-based solar panels and has secured a US distribution deal with BayWa r.e. for its Alpha Series modules.
Reliance Industries, meanwhile, is planning to set up an integrated module factory in India as part of a US$10.1 billion clean energy plan announced by managing director Mukesh Ambani earlier this year. That strategy will also see Reliance aim to enable 100GW of solar as well as construct a battery storage manufacturing plant and green hydrogen and fuel cell facilities.
The company recently invested in long-duration battery technology start-up Ambri as part of a wider US$144 million investment in the US-based firm.
When announcing Reliance’s clean energy plan in June, Mukesh Ambani said: “I envision a future when our country will be transformed from a large importer of fossil energy to a large exporter of clean solar energy solutions.”
India currently has annual manufacturing capacities of around 16GW for modules and 4GW for cells, according to consultancy JMK Research & Analytics.
