NEWS

Key Takeaways

• Solex Energy has announced plans to invest INR 80 billion in expanding its production capacity

• It will comprise venturing into cell production with an initial 2 GW capacity

• Module manufacturing expansion is aimed to be increased from 700 MW now to 15 GW

• The manufacturer has also launched rectangular cell-based n-type modules

Indian solar PV module manufacturer Solex Energy Limited is venturing into solar cell production with plans to develop up to 5 GW annual capacity, though it will start with an initial 2 GW capacity.

Additionally, the management has also announced plans to scale up its solar module manufacturing capacity to 15 GW. At present, its annual production capacity stands at 700 MW, and an additional 800 MW under installation.

In May this year, Solex entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GMEE to buy an 800 MW production line for high-efficiency n-type TOPCon modules and heterojunction (HJT) solar cell-based modules to expand its annual capacity from 700 MW to 1.5 GW by the end of Q2 FY 2024-25 (see India Solar PV News Snippets).

These plans are part of the company’s Vision 2030 strategy and will incur an investment exceeding INR 80 billion ($953 million). An expansion of this scale will require the company to enhance its workforce to over 25,000.  

As part of this strategy, the manufacturer is also launching a new module series called Tapi-R, with the R representing the rectangular cell design, using n-type TOPCon technology. These will use a cell size of 182.2 x 210 mm and 132 half-cut cells, delivering up to 625 W of power with 23.14% module efficiency.

Solex targets these rectangular modules for large-scale PV projects in harsh climate conditions like deserts and barren lands. It promises a bifaciality of close to 80% and a power temperature coefficient of -0.28%/°C. 

It is offering a 12-year product and a 30-year linear performance guarantee on this series.

“With the launch of the Tapi-R series, we are proud to be the first Indian manufacturer to offer modules with such advanced technology. We recently became the first Indian PV module manufacturer to secure the prestigious MCS 005 certification under the BSI Kitemark, accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS),” said Solex Chairman and Managing Director Chetan Shah.