Websol Energy System Limited has received board approval to scale up its solar cell and module manufacturing capacity in India.

According to a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing, Websol’s board has approved expansion of its cell line capacity by 100 MW, bringing the company’s total cell line capacity to almost 300 MW. The BSE filing also stated that an expansion of its module line capacity by 150 MW was also approved bringing its module line capacity to 250 MW.

The company has placed an order for a 250 MW automated module line from vendors including -Eternal Sun/Spire Solar, Yingkou Jinchen Machinery Co., and Wuxi Autowell Supply Chain Management Co. Commercial production for the line is expected to start in October 2017.

Since the anti-dumping investigation began, several domestic manufacturers have been contemplating expansion plans for solar cell and module production in India.

The announcement by Websol comes at a time when the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has proposed the development of 7.5 GW of solar by 2022 using domestically manufactured solar cells and modules through the second phase of its Central Public-Sector Unit (CPSU) program. If approved, this program will give a set market of about 2 GW a year for local manufacturers.

Mercom previously reported that Topaz Solar, a private Indian company, has plans to set up a 1.2 GW module manufacturing unit in Odisha, India.

There is also an ongoing anti-dumping investigation against solar imports from China, Taiwan and Malaysia. The combination of the recent 7.5 GW program and the recent ruling by the Indian Ministry of Finance to impose an anti-dumping duty on tempered glass (solar glass) imported from China in the range of $64.04 per metric ton (MT) to $136.21/MT, local Indian manufacturers are looking optimistically at the domestic market potential.

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