SAEL and Shakti Pumps announce new solar manufacturing investments

SAEL Industries Limited and Shakti Pumps (India) Limited have separately announced new investments aimed at expanding domestic solar manufacturing capacity, with a focus on meeting future demand and aligning with domestic content requirement (DCR) norms.

SAEL Industries, through its subsidiary SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited, plans to set up an integrated solar manufacturing facility in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The project will be located in the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority region and is expected to begin construction later this year.

The facility will have an annual capacity of 5 GW for solar cell production and 5 GW for module assembly. SAEL will manufacture tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cells, which will be assembled into modules on-site. The total investment is estimated at Rs 82 billion. Once operational, the new facility will increase SAEL’s total solar manufacturing capacity to 8.5 GW.

This expansion comes amid a broader surge in solar power deployment in Uttar Pradesh. According to the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), the state’s installed solar capacity has grown from 288 MW in 2017 to a projected 2,653 MW in 2025.

Separately, Shakti Pumps has approved an equity investment of Rs 120 million in its wholly owned subsidiary, Shakti Energy Solutions Limited. The funds will be used to support the company’s entry into solar cell and module manufacturing, aligned with DCR norms. Shakti Energy Solutions was already manufacturing solar module mounting structures before the infusion.

Earlier this month, Shakti Pumps raised Rs 2.926 billion through a qualified institutions placement (QIP) at Rs 918 per share. The QIP was priced at a 4.97 per cent discount to SEBI’s floor price of Rs 965.96.