SunEdison and Adani have made announcements at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, to build country’s largest vertically integrated solar PV manufacturing facility in Gujarat.
Both firms will jointly invest about Rs 25,000 crore (USD 4 billion) to set up a solar park in Gujarat.
The facility will produce enough solar panels to encourage extensive solar growth in India, helping to achieve the target of clean energy independence.
By the first half of 2015, SunEdison and Adani will go through a detailed analysis on the joint venture opportunity and business plan.
Within one and a half year, a part of the JV will become operational, but a fully commercialized operation will begin only after 3-4 years.
The initial effort includes a plan to set up a facility in Mundra region of Gujarat that will manufacture ultra-low cost solar panels within next three years, helping to turn sunlight directly into electricity at cheaper rates.
The Mundra facility will integrate and cover entire features of solar panel production like Polysilicon refining, ingots, wafers, cells and panels along with a systematic supply chain for raw materials and consumables.
It is expected that around 4,500 direct jobs and over 15,000 indirect jobs will be created during the process.
“India has embarked on an ambitious program to become a world leader in power generation from renewable technologies, and sees solar as a key part in realizing that goal,” said, Vneet S Jaain, CEO, Adani Power.
The announcement is a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” vision that promotes indigenous clean energy production.
Sabeena Wahid
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