BusinessWire India
New Delhi [India], April 11: The Indian solar industry is taking a bold leap toward manufacturing leadership. On Day 1 of the TaiyangNews Solar Technology Conference India 2025, Subramanyam Pulipaka, CEO of the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI), representing India's solar industry, forecasted that the country's solar module manufacturing capacity will reach 160 GW by 2030, alongside 120 GW of cell and 100 GW each of wafer and polysilicon capacity. That would be twice the module manufacturing capacity of around 80 GW in 2025 and 8 times the cell production capacity of 15 GW this year. After grid-connecting a record 24.5 GW (AC) in 2024, India's total installed solar generation capacity reached 100 GW (AC) earlier this year, twice as large as the wind power generation fleet.
Coinciding with NSEFI's positive forecast was a major step in international collaboration, as NSEFI and SolarPower Europe (SPE), the association of the European solar sector, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen ties, expanding their earlier cooperation in solar deployment into PV manufacturing.
"India's solar journey depends on getting the 4Ms right - Machines, Materials, Manpower, and Money," said Pulipaka. "To build a complete manufacturing ecosystem, international collaboration, especially with Europe, is vital," he stressed.
Mate Heisz, COO of SolarPower Europe, said that Europe's experienced solar production equipment industry and specialized solar research organizations stand ready to expand their support of the Indian solar manufacturing sector. He referred to the association's newly created International Solar Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI), which helps European solar manufacturers and equipment providers maximize international business opportunities, with the support of EU initiatives such as the Global Gateway that aims to mobilize up to EUR150 billion of investments in the climate & energy sectors alone.
An executive panel with c-level leaders from Indian solar manufacturing pioneers Reliance Group, Indosol Solar, Premier Energies and Emmvee Group showed general content with the development of India's solar manufacturing industry. Prof. Dr. Peter Fath, CEO of RCT Solutions, a leading engineering firm from Germany involved in many of the Indian manufacturing projects, advised Indian companies planning investments in PV manufacturing to opt for standard technologies while already preparing for the next generation as technology cycles are very short in the solar sector.
"India has a huge chance to shape the future of solar. But manufacturers must not miss the bus when it comes to innovation," Fath said. "They should set aside R&D budgets, already prepare for upcoming cell technologies, and even work toward building their own pilot lines and IP portfolios."
The conference also highlighted India's solar R&D activities, with Prof. Dinesh Kabra of IIT Bombay providing an overview on next-gen perovskite and solar tandem technology, providing background on his team's lab achievement of 29.84% efficiency for perovskite solar cells, in collaboration with ART PV India. The IIT Bombay team is now aiming for 30% commercial-scale efficiency by 2027.
Setting the stage for the day, TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela opened with a global perspective: "Solar is the only technology that can solve the energy trilemma of energy security, affordability and sustainability. Solar is often the lowest power generation source today, and with its cost continuing to fall faster than for any of its peers, solar must be very high on the resilience radar of any politician."
Schmela added, "Solar is growing much faster than any other power generation technology, but as we are heading towards annual terawatt-scale deployment, policy makers and regulators must hurry to provide the right framework conditions for investments in grids, batteries and local supply chains to catch up with solar's strong growth, enabling the success story to continue."
With the right partnerships, policy support, and a mindset focused on innovation, India is on the path to becoming the other global solar manufacturing powerhouse next to China.
For more background information on the Solar Technology Conference, check here: www.solar-technology-conference.info
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