IPO-bound SAEL to venture into solar cells with a ₹5,000 crore plant in UP

The Delhi-headquartered IPO-bound company is looking to set up an integrated solar cell and module manufacturing facility with a capacity to produce 5 gigawatt (GW) of solar cells annually, chief executive Laxit Awla told Mint in an interview.

“We are about to begin implementation of the cell manufacturing project in the next few months. It (solar cell manufacturing capacity) will be 5 GW approximately. We have module manufacturing in Rajasthan. This will be in UP, Greater Noida. So approximate investment should be around ₹5,000 crore," Awla said.

The Union government has included solar cells under the ambit of the renewable energy ministry’s approved list of models and manufacturers with effect from June 2026, effectively allowing only those suppliers featured in the list to supply solar cells for government-backed projects.

SAEL currently has a 3 GW capacity plant in Rajasthan to manufacture solar modules—panels of connected solar cells—and another 0.3 GW capacity in Punjab, employing around 1,500 people. It has so far incurred a capital expenditure of ₹600 crore for module manufacturing, Awla said.

SAEL will also look at manufacturing other components used in manufacturing solar modules, such as wafers and ingots, depending on government policy and domestic market requirements, he added.

SAEL’s IPO plans

On SAEL’s fundraising plans, Awla confirmed media reports that the company was planning an initial public offering of its shares in 12 months and that it had appointed merchant bankers for the IPO.

“IPO today is one of the most conducive ways of raising funds, which is why in the past two years the market has picked up. Now obviously, we have other options available as well, private placement, private equity. So all these are probable fundraising scenarios," Awla said. “Having said that, we are focusing on IPO majorly right now because the market is good and I think we intend to achieve this milestone at this point of time."

In January last year, the company raised $1 billion from investors including Norway investment fund Norfund, DFC, ADB, and Tata Cleantech.

Indian solar equipment makers were hoping to gain acompetitive global advantage after US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal trade tariffs on almost all countries last month. The current tariff rate on Indian solar exports to the US stands at 14%, which is lower than the tariffs imposed on products from China, the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels and other related equipment.

India is targeting 500GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030. Last month, Union minister for new and renewable energy, Pralhad Joshi, said India added about 25 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2024-25, the highest ever green power capacity addition in a year, registering a nearly 35% growth from the previous fiscal year.

Of the 25 GW of renewable energy capacity added in FY25,solar power capacity comprised 21 GW.

Tight competition

Apart from manufacturing solar modules and cells, SAEL plans to add at least 8 GW of battery integrated solar capacity over the next four years, taking the company’s cumulative solar-based power-generation capacity to about 15 GW.

“It’s currently over 6.5 gigawatt. We are looking at a committed capacity of 15 GW in the next 3-4 years," Awla said, adding that going ahead SAEL’s solar projects would be integrated with battery energy storage systems.

SAEL is also present in the waste-to-energy space with 11 biomass plants in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, with cumulative paddy-to-energy generation capacity of 165 MW.

In the overall renewable energy space, SAEL faces competition from private sector giants such as Tata Power Ltd, Reliance Power Ltd,ReNew Energy Global Plc., andSembcorp Industries.

Last week, Tata Power reported a nearly40% year-on-year increase in fourth-quarter operational earnings driven in part by higher margins from its newly commissioned solar cell manufacturing facility.

Also last week, Reliance NU Energy, a subsidiary of Reliance Power, announced that it had secured a350 MW solar power project integrated with a 175 MW/700 MWh battery energy storage system through a competitive bidding process conducted by state-run SJVN Ltd.

Earlier in May, Reliance NU Suntech, another Reliance Power subsidiary, signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India to developAsia’s largest single-location integrated solar and battery energy storage system project.