Tata Power Solar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power Co Ltd, has expanded its manufacturing capacity by 60 per cent to 200 MW from 125 MW.
“The expansion is based on the significant increase in demand that the company has seen for its solar modules, as well as the expected increase in demand due to supportive policy steps announced recently by the Government such as domestic content requirement and anti-dumping duties,” said Ajay Goel, CEO, Tata Power Solar.
“The expansion comes against the backdrop of extremely difficult times for the Indian solar industry.” Tata Power Solar, earlier known as Tata BP Solar, has been in business for the past 25 years. The company, after buying out British Petroleum Solar’s stake in the joint venture, has been focusing on manufacturing, project execution and products.
Without disclosing the investment made for expansion, Goel said: “So far, we have spent ₹500 crore, right from setting up our operations in Bangalore.”
Domestic market Talking about the domestic market, he added: “The industry on the whole has orders worth 750 MW of which 375 MW is domestic content requirement. With dumping happening in the country, now it is a situation of 1000 MW chasing 375 MW order.”
Rahul Budhwar, Vice-President - Manufacturing and Business Development, said: “The company in its 25 years has effected two capacity additions, one in 2001 and now in 2014. We have initiated manufacturing expansion at Bangalore.
Currently, the company operates three manufacturing units – module, cell and solar water heaters.”
Added Goel: “We have a strong national presence with eight regional offices, 40 authorised service centres plus a network of more than 1,000 channel partners nationwide.” “From the last fiscal, the company is targeting rooftop and distributed generation projects across the country. It also offers a diverse line of solar products for both urban and rural markets,” he said.