A historic greenfield investment project has been sanctioned by the Andhra Pradesh Government for Websol Renewable Private Limited to set up an entirely new solar manufacturing unit with an 8 GW capacity at the MPSEZ-Naidupeta site in the Tirupati district. This project will provide direct employment to around 2,000 people with an investment of Rs 3,538 crore.
The project would cover an area of 120 acres and would be developed in two phases, with commercial production to be started in July 2027 and July 2028. The manufacturing unit would be one of the largest and fast-tracked projects in South India, with the production capacity for solar cells and modules to be 4GW and 4GW, respectively.
In order to support sustainable and efficient running costs, the government has allotted land to Websol for establishing a 300-acre captive solar power plant, thereby making Websol run its plant solely through renewable power. Further, the firm also initiated the construction of a 100 MW captive solar plant to ensure power security and minimize costs.
This project also strengthens the position of Naidupeta and the southern part of the Tamil Nadu industrial corridor as one of the foremost solar cell manufacturing centers in India. Apart from Websol, other companies such as Premier Energies, Tata Power, and Voltsun are also developing massive manufacturing units in this arena as well. This move has helped create an excellent support infrastructure matrix for solar cell manufacturing, making South India an attractive global destination for solar cell production units.
Sohan Lal Agarwal, Chairman & Managing Director of Websol Energy System Limited, stated that it is an endorsement of Andhra Pradesh’s favorable industrial setup. “With the progress of the Indian renewable energy plan under the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign, it will enable us to contribute significantly to it. Andhra Pradesh offers us an excellent opportunity to meet our strategy of expansion in the production of 4 GW solar cell capacity & 4 GW solar module capacity, and we are eager to add to the clean energy pillar of India’s production base, set up in Naidupeta,” he said.
On the welcome, Nara Lokesh, Minister for Industries, IT & Electronics, said: “The Websol initial investment of Rs 3,500 crores and 8 GW manufacturing unit proves our attractiveness as a clean energy manufacturing hub. With speedy land allocation, single-window clearances, and stable green power infrastructure, we are developing a solar manufacturing cluster that can compete globally. Naidupeta and south AP are being defined as the solar manufacturing capital of our country, and we feel proud that we’re at the epicenter of this activity.”
This project has been approved under the AP Industrial Development Policy (4.0) 2024-29, which provides customized incentive structures that include land, power, water, capital assistance, as well as statutory waivers. This is to ensure that there is speed in business implementation as promoted by the “Speed of Doing Business.”
Now that significant investment has begun pouring into solar wafers, ingots, cells, and modules as well as the renewable power sector, AP is definitely carving a niche for itself as the number one destination for the entire country for renewable energy.
