IPO-Bound SAEL to Spark Solar Surge with INR 5,000 Cr UP Mega Plant

In order to take advantage of government rules that promote local suppliers in the renewable energy sector, SAEL plans to invest INR 5,000 crore to build a solar cell manufacturing plant in Uttar Pradesh with an annual capacity of 5 GW.

Chief executive Laxit Awla told a media house in an interview that the Delhi-based IPO-bound company wants to establish an integrated solar cell and module manufacturing plant that can generate 5 gigawatts (GW) of solar cells a year.

According to Awla, the company would start the cell production project implementation in the next months. It will have a manufacturing capability of about 5 GW for solar cells. In Rajasthan, we manufacture modules. Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh will host this. Therefore, an estimated INR 5,000 crore needs to be invested.

Indian Government Pushing for Expanding Usage of Renewable Energy

With effect from June 2026, the Union government has added solar cells to the list of manufacturers and models that the Ministry of Renewable Energy has approved. This basically means that only providers on the list are permitted to provide solar cells for projects that are supported by the government.

Currently, SAEL employs over 1,500 people at its 3 GW facility in Rajasthan, which produces solar modules, which are panels of connected solar cells, and another 0.3 GW plant in Punjab. According to Awla, it has already spent INR 600 crore on capital expenditures for module manufacture.

According to Awla, SAEL would also consider producing wafers and ingots, two more parts used in the production of solar modules, based on domestic market demands and governmental regulations.

SAEL Expanding its Network in the Domestic Market

In addition to producing solar cells and modules, SAEL intends to increase its total solar-based power-generation capacity to roughly 15 GW over the next four years by adding at least 8 GW of battery-integrated solar capacity. At the moment, it exceeds 6.5 gigawatts. In the next three to four years, we anticipate having a committed capacity of 15 GW," Awla stated, adding that SAEL's solar projects would eventually be linked with battery energy storage systems.

With 11 biomass plants spread across Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, SAEL is also active in the waste-to-energy sector. Together, these plants have a 165 MW paddy-to-energy producing capacity. Private sector behemoths like Tata Power Ltd., Reliance Power Ltd., ReNew Energy Global Plc., and Semicorp Industries compete with SAEL in the entire renewable energy market.

Higher margins from its recently commissioned solar cell manufacturing facility contributed to Tata Power's fourth-quarter operational earnings, which increased by almost 40% year over year last week.

The state-run SJVN Ltd held a competitive bidding process last week, and Reliance NU Energy, a subsidiary of Reliance Power, announced that it had won a 350 MW solar power project combined with a 175 MW/700 MWh battery energy storage system.

In order to create Asia's largest single-location integrated solar and battery energy storage system project, Reliance NU Suntech, another Reliance Power company, and the state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India signed a 25-year power purchase deal earlier in May.