Grew Energy, a renewable energy venture of the Chiripal Group, announced plans to set up a 3.2 GW solar module manufacturing facility in Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir. The company will invest ₹45 billion (~$ 538.8 million) to establish the fully integrated three-stage facility on 80 acres of land.

Upon completion, the plant will have an annual production capacity of 3.2 GW of high-efficiency solar modules and 2.8 GW of solar ingots, wafers and cells.

“The new plant will not only add to the socio-economic development of the state, but it will also play a pivotal role in meeting India’s net zero target. It will also help in creating employment opportunities for the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” said CEO Vinay Thadani.

With its existing 2.8 GW module facility in Rajasthan and the new unit, Grew Energy, aims to achieve a total manufacturing capacity of 6 GW for modules and 2.8 GW for solar components by fiscal year 2025.

Last month, the company won Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) auction to manufacture, test, package, forward, supply, and transport 200 MW domestically manufactured solar modules at a value of ₹22.66 million (~$271,597) per MWp.

Last year, the company was declared a winner by SECI to be eligible to receive a total of ₹5.67 billion (~$70 million) under Tranche II of the performance-linked incentive program to manufacture 2 GW of solar modules.

Earlier this year, Jammu and Kashmir became the destination for GoodEnough Energy’s ₹4.50 billion (~$54 million) battery energy storage systems gigafactory with 7 GWh capacity. The gigafactory is expected to commence operations in October 2024, with plans to scale the capacity to 20 GWh by 2026.

India added 20.8 GW of solar modules and 3.2 GW of solar cell capacity in calendar year (CY) 2023, according to the State of Solar PV Manufacturing in India 2024 Report by Mercom India Research.