CEL commissions 200 MW solar module plant in Uttar Pradesh
Central Electronics Limited (CEL), a central government-owned public sector undertaking, has commissioned a 200 MW solar module manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh.
The plant was inaugurated by Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh, who highlighted the project’s execution timeline. According to Singh, CEL issued the request for proposal in April 2025, completed bidder selection within a month, and commissioned the facility in less than a year.
CEL has a longstanding presence in India’s solar manufacturing sector. The company manufactured the country’s first solar cell in 1977 and established its first solar plant in 1979. Divestment proceedings involving CEL were withdrawn in 2022, following which the organisation repositioned itself as a profit-generating Mini Ratna enterprise.
Apart from solar manufacturing, CEL is expanding into vertical-axis wind turbines, hybrid renewable energy systems, data centres, and defence electronics. Its defence portfolio includes electronic warfare systems and small weapon systems.
The inauguration also marked progress on two technology transfer agreements signed between CEL and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL). One agreement relates to the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS). At the same time, the other covers the Drishti Transmissometer System, a visibility measurement technology used in aviation that has now been fully indigenised.
Singh said technologies developed in national laboratories should move towards commercialisation through partnerships with industry.
