Kolkata-headquartered solar cell and module manufacturer Jupiter International is setting up a 1.2 GW solar cell manufacturing facility in Odisha.

Work on the plant, to be located in Khurda, will begin in the next quarter of the year. The facility will manufacture TopCon solar cells exclusively. Commissioning of the plant is expected by March 2025, Dhruv Sharma, CEO of Jupiter International, told Mercom.

Jupiter’s ₹2.5 billion (~$30.2 million) solar cell project is among the 27 industrial projects that were approved by the Odisha State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) last week.

Besides the solar cell project, Jupiter is also executing a 1.3 GW integrated solar cell and module manufacturing facility in a joint venture with AmpIn Energy Transition in Odisha. The project is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2024.

The integrated facility is being established with funds under the government’s Production Linked Incentive program.

Jupiter operates an 800 MW facility situated in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. It includes a 500 MW Mono PERC solar cell facility and a 300 MW multi-crystalline solar cell facility.

In 2022, Jupiter raised ₹1.7 billion (~$22.19 million) from funds managed by Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors. The capital raised included debt and a convertible-to-equity instrument.

While India has ramped up solar module manufacturing, domestic solar cell manufacturing has lagged. Last August, Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy R. K. Singh said India had installed an indigenous solar cell manufacturing capacity of just 6 GW/annum in nine years.

India has continued to rely on the import of solar cells to meet demand. India imported $5 billion (~₹416.8 billion) worth of solar cells and modules in 2023, the highest in a year. The imports rose 89.3% from $2.6 billion (~₹218.5 billion) in 2022. Modules accounted for 60.7% of the annual solar imports, and solar cells 39.3%.

Indian solar exports rose 227% year-over-year to $1.8 billion (~₹152.6 billion) in 2023 from $561 million (~₹46.4 billion), according to recent data published by the Department of Commerce. Solar modules constituted 97.4% of the annual solar exports, while cells accounted for 2.6%.