10GW! Tata Power Plans Silicon Ingot & Wafer Facility

PVTIME – Tata Power has confirmed approval in principle for a 10GW silicon ingot and wafer manufacturing plant, marking an expansion of its operations upstream in the solar supply chain. This information was revealed by Praveer Sinha, the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, during a recent investor call.

Sinha explained that the production of silicon ingots and wafers is capital- and technology-intensive, and that the plant is still in the site selection phase. Given the significant investment required, Tata Power is engaging with India’s central government’s Production Linked Incentive scheme and negotiating subsidy policies with multiple state governments. A location decision is expected in the coming months. Currently, India’s ingot and wafer capacity is limited to the Adani Group’s 2GW operation, meaning Tata’s facility will be the largest in the country once completed.

Tata Power’s solar business has delivered strong results. Its 4.3GW solar cell production line in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, is operating stably and has seen a 262% year-on-year surge in net profit to 2.4 billion rupees thanks to optimised raw material costs. This figure increased further to 3.4 billion rupees in the first half of this year. The rooftop solar segment performed even more impressively: quarterly net profit reached 1.23 billion rupees, representing a year-on-year increase of 390%; quarterly sales exceeded 10 billion rupees for the first time; and first-half net profit reached 2.13 billion rupees.

The project closely aligns with India’s national strategy of installing 500GW of renewable energy by 2030 and achieving 40GW of wafer capacity by 2027, with the aim of reducing import dependency. Sinha highlighted the government’s urgent need for such facilities and anticipated the introduction of a dedicated Production Linked Incentive scheme to support them. Industry analysts suggest that the plant will enable Tata Power to establish a vertically integrated supply chain covering ingots, wafers, cells, and modules, which would significantly boost cost efficiency and supply chain resilience.

Tata Power aims to add 2.6GW of renewable energy capacity by the end of the current fiscal year and has an existing project pipeline of 5.3GW. A final investment decision on the 10GW ingot and wafer facility is expected within the next two months.