JAIPUR: Finally, Rajasthan, the solar hub of the country, has started attracting investments in the module manufacturing.
On April 24, the Board of Investments chaired by chief minister Ashok Gehlot cleared a proposal of Renew Power to set up a module manufacturing of 2000 megawatt capacity. Now, the company has again submitted proposal to expand the capacity by another 2000 MW.
Similarly, Insolation Energy, which was perhaps the first private company to set up a module manufacturing plant 200 MW is now in the midst of expanding the capacity by another 500 MW.
Manoj Gupta, vice-president of ReNew Power said, “The company has already submitted a proposal to set up another solar module manufacturing plant of 2000 MW in Rajasthan in same premises of existing 2000 MW which is currently under development. In both the plants, the company will invest over Rs 900 crore.”
ReNew has taken nearly 22-acre land in Mahindra World City, Jaipur where both the units would come up. Gupta said that both units will generate direct employment for 800 people, while the indirect job opportunities will go up to 4000.
The company is expecting the first pant to be operational by January 2023 and has made a similar projection for the new plant if the approvals are in place. Once operational, the plants will create cascading economic opportunities in several sectors.
Insolation Energy is investing Rs 100 crore in its new facility at Chomu with a manufacturing capacity of 500 MW modules. The plant is set to be operational in a few months.
Manish Gupta, Insolation Energy Ltd, said, “We are investing Rs 100 crore in the new plant which will generate job opportunities for 400 people. There are 250 people already working in the existing facility.”
The module manufacturing installed capacity in the country is currently over 9000 MW. It has gone up from 2000 MW in 2016. But earlier, the cost of production was higher making the domestically produced modules costlier compared to the Chinese products. But representatives in the solar industry said, that economies of scale will bring down the cost.
Rajasthan accounts for the largest capacity of generation of solar power in the country. Till recently, the module manufacturers bypassed the state. In fact, complete waiver of SGST, stamp duty and electricity duty which has been extended to ReNew Power has done the trick.
Similar incentives will attract other manufacturers as well. Being the largest generator od solar power, the presence of manufacturing industry will complement the growth of the sector, said industry representatives.
Source: PTI
