Tata Power Plans India’s Largest Solar Wafers & Ingots Plant

In a major move for India’s renewable energy sector, Tata Power has announced its intention to set up what will be the country’s largest solar wafers and ingots manufacturing plant, with a capacity of 10 gigawatts (GW). For competitive exam aspirants and readers keeping tabs on industrial & energy policy developments, this project is significant—since it relates to building up the domestic solar manufacturing supply chain, government incentives, and the broader push for self‑reliance in energy components.

Project Overview: What’s Planned?

Tata Power will establish a facility dedicated to producing ingots and wafers—these are upstream components in solar cell and module manufacturing (ingots → wafers → cells → modules).

• Capacity: 10 GW of wafers and ingots.
• The company already has about 4.9 GW of integrated cell and module manufacturing capacity; this new plant fills the upstream gap.
• Location has not been finalised; Tata Power will decide after evaluating state‑level incentives and central support.
• The plant aligns with India’s policy push to reduce dependence on imports—especially from China—for upstream solar components.
• Final investment decision to be taken in the next two months.

Strengthening the Solar Supply Chain

India has strong capacity in downstream solar manufacturing (cells, modules) but lags in upstream components like wafers and ingots. By setting up a large‑scale ingots and wafers facility, Tata Power addresses this gap and enhances the domestic supply chain.

Supporting National and Policy Goals

The project supports multiple national objectives,

• Boosting the “Make in India” agenda in renewable energy.
• Reducing import‑dependence in critical components of solar modules.
• Aligning with output‑linked incentives (OLI) and other support schemes for solar manufacturing in India.

Helping India scale up its solar manufacturing ecosystem ahead of its climate and clean‑energy targets

Key takeaways

• Upstream solar manufacturing elements = ingots & wafers.
• Tata Power to set up 10 GW capacity plant in India for ingots & wafers.
• Already has ~4.9 GW cell + module capacity.
• Focus: strengthen domestic supply chain, reduce import‑dependence.
• Decision on investment and location expected soon (within ~2 months).
• Strategic relevance: aligns with Make in India + clean energy manufacturing push.