Newsletter
Tata Power has announced plans to build a 10 GW ingot and wafer manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh, marking a big step in India’s solar manufacturing push.
A 10 GW ingot and wafer plant makes the core parts for solar panels, enough to power millions of homes.
Note: the plant is expected to be the largest ingot and wafer manufacturing facility in India once completed.
What’s going on: the project will be developed at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. The state government has allotted 200 acres at the IFFCO Kisan SEZ, and the project has received approval from the State Investment Promotion Board. The facility will make ingots and wafers, which are key raw materials for solar cells and modules.
Why it matters: it will help reduce India’s dependence on imported solar components, especially from overseas suppliers.
Ingots and wafers are important for the country because they are the starting materials used to make solar cells and solar panels.
Today, India imports most of its ingots and wafers, which makes solar projects expensive and dependent on foreign supply chains. Building these components locally helps cut imports, lower costs, and secure energy supply.
Big theme: India today has 80+ GW of solar module capacity and around 25–30 GW of solar cell capacity, but ingot and wafer capacity is negligible.
Right now, China controls over 95% of global wafer manufacturing, which makes India heavily dependent on imports for the most critical solar input.
That’s why projects like Tata Power’s 10 GW ingot and wafer plant are important as they start closing the biggest gap in India’s solar supply chain.
