Premier Energies has commissioned India’s largest solar cell manufacturing plant. The company said in a regulatory filing that it has commissioned its 7 GW N-type TOPCon G12R solar cell manufacturing facility at Naidupeta in Andhra Pradesh.
With the commissioning of the new facility, Premier Energies’ total solar cell manufacturing capacity has increased to 10.6 GW. The company said the new unit has also started trial runs.
The facility has been developed at a capital expenditure of Rs 3,293 crore and is spread across 101 acres. Premier Energies said the plant was commissioned on time and within budget.
Plant can produce 88,000 cells an hour
The new facility has been designed for high-volume manufacturing and can produce around 88,000 solar cells per hour.
Premier Energies has deployed digital systems and artificial intelligence at the plant to support predictive performance analysis, process control and precision manufacturing. Automated systems for material movement, packing and packaging are also expected to improve production efficiency and consistency.
The company said the facility will strengthen its ability to cater to demand for high-efficiency solar products in both domestic and international markets.
Commenting on the development, Chiranjeev Saluja, Managing Director, Premier Energies, said, “Commissioning India’s largest solar cell manufacturing facility on time and within budget is an important execution milestone for Premier Energies. We remain positive on the outlook for orders, pricing and demand for high-efficiency solar products.”
“The timing of this 7 GW capacity addition is therefore significant: as the line stabilises and ramps up, it gives us the scale to serve that demand with greater supply reliability and operating efficiency,” he added.
Facility designed for next-generation TOPCon technology
The 7 GW facility is designed to support future upgrades to next-generation TOPCon+ technologies, including poly-finger metallisation and advanced edge-isolation processes.
Following stabilisation and ramp-up, the company is targeting average solar cell efficiency of around 25.8%.
Premier Energies said the facility is also equipped with a Zero Liquid Discharge system to maximise water recycling and reuse.
Company plans further backward integration
Saluja said the new capacity will also support Premier Energies’ plans to build a more integrated solar manufacturing platform.
“Together with our planned backward integration into ingots and wafers, this strengthens our strategy of building a fully integrated and globally competitive solar manufacturing platform while supporting India’s clean energy transition,” he said.
Sudhir Reddy, Director and Chief Strategy Officer, Premier Energies, said the Naidupeta plant is an important step in the company’s integrated manufacturing roadmap.
“Naidupeta plant is a major step forward in our integrated manufacturing roadmap. The combination of scale, automation and advanced cell technology is designed to improve manufacturing competitiveness, strengthen supply-chain resilience and position Premier Energies to address demand for high-efficiency solar products in India and international markets,” Reddy said.
Premier Energies share price
The share price of Premier Energies is trading flat in the intraday trading session. The stock has declined 16.84% in last three month. On year-to-date basis, the stock has increased 5.95%.