India’s Rolta Power Seeks Chinese Partner For Solar Cell Facility

With the Indian government’s plan to mandate use of domestically manufactured solar power equipment, Indian companies are now planning long-term investments in the manufacturing sector.

Rolta Power is looking to partner with a Chinese technology provider to set up a solar cell manufacturing facility. The initial capacity of the facility will be 60 MW and will require an investment of ₹100 crore.

Rolta Power already manufactures solar photovoltaic modules and is now planning to become self-reliant with a solar cell production facility. The company is already in talks with two Chinese companies to partner on the technology front. The partnership will see a joint venture in which Rolta Power will retain a share of 51%. The joint venture may also benefit the Chinese partner if it is able to export India-made modules to other solar power markets that levy anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar equipment.

The company also plans to increase its module manufacturing capacity to 300 MW over the next two years.

The company is planning to expand into other services within the solar power sector. It plans to offer engineering, procurement, and construction services to project developers across all project sizes.

The decision by Rolta Power to invest in a solar cell production facility is significant in terms of the market conditions. Some of the largest module and cell manufacturers in India are suffering from massive losses with low demand for their products. The government also refused to levy anti-dumping duties on imported solar power modules.

The Indian government plans to promote domestic manufacturers by mandating the use of India-made modules and cells in the ultra mega solar power projects program, which targets 20 GW capacity addition over the next five years. Some capacity auctioned under the ambitious National Solar Mission has been set aside to be installed using only domestic content.

Image Credit: Make In India