Indian solar manufacturer Waaree Energies has received board approval to relocate its proposed 6GW vertically-integrated manufacturing facility in India for ingots, wafers, cells, and modules.
According to the firm, the decision to relocate stems from delays in executing the project at the originally planned site in Odisha. The manufacturing will now be split across multiple sites in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and potentially other Indian states.
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This includes a 3GW solar module facility in Samakhiali, Gujarat, and another 3GW module line in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, or an alternate location. Additionally, Waaree plans to establish a 6GW cell facility in Unn, Gujarat, and a 6GW ingot and wafer facility in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
The Mumbai, India-headquartered company said the revised manufacturing projects will cost approximately INR90,495 billion (US$1.08 billion).
Announced in October 2024, the project was set to span 595 acres in Neulapoi, Dhenkanal, Odisha. With an investment of INR25,000 crore (INR250 billion), the 6GW planned manufacturing facility aimed to focus on producing solar modules and associated components. Once fully operational, the plant was expected to generate nearly 14,000 jobs.
Waaree Energies won the project with support worth INR19.23 billion ($221.6 million) through the second phase of the Indian government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) programme for advanced solar module manufacturing. A portion of the funding was intended to come from the net proceeds of its public offering.
Overall, the Indian manufacturer has 13.3GW of annual nameplate capacity for solar modules and 5.4GW of annual nameplate capacity of solar cells. Waaree Energies operates five manufacturing plants in India.
Apart from India, the firm unveiled its US expansion plans in late 2023, committing up to US$1 billion in investment. At the time, Waaree targeted to scale up its annual capacity in the country to up to 5GW by 2027.
Recently, Waaree Energies’ US arm – Waaree Solar Americas signed a deal to supply 599MW of solar modules to an unnamed independent power producer (IPP) based in the United States.
