India slashes China dependence with solar expansion

India's Adani Group aims to ramp up its solar panel production by 150 per cent by 2026 to support India’s carbon neutrality goals and reduce reliance on Chinese manufacturers.

The Indian conglomerate plans to expand its solar equipment manufacturing capacity from the current 4 gigawatts per year to at least 10 gigawatts annually, as revealed by Sagar Adani, Executive Director of Adani Green Energy Ltd., in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Inside Adani, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

In addition to scaling up solar panel production, Adani Group is constructing one of the world’s largest renewable energy parks near India’s western coast. This massive project, five times the size of Paris, will feature extensive arrays of solar panels and wind turbines.

“We are enhancing our manufacturing capabilities to ensure that the majority of our renewable energy equipment is produced domestically,” said Sagar Adani, the 30-year-old nephew of billionaire Gautam Adani. “Our goal is to significantly reduce our dependence on imported equipment within the next 18 to 24 months.”

As one of the four successors being prepared to lead the $202 billion conglomerate, Sagar Adani also manages the group’s finances and is optimistic that internal funding will support their ambitious $100 billion investment in renewable energy over the next decade.

Adani Group’s ambitious plans to significantly increase its solar panel output are pivotal for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dual policy objectives: achieving carbon neutrality by 2070 and enhancing domestic manufacturing capabilities. India is the largest market for Chinese solar modules, which poses a supply chain risk given the ongoing border tensions between the two countries.

According to BloombergNEF, Chinese factories exported $2.1 billion worth of solar panels to India in the six months ending March 2024. The Ahmedabad-based conglomerate, which is transitioning from its fossil fuel origins but still depends on coal for substantial revenue, is aggressively pursuing clean energy initiatives.

In addition to accelerating green energy projects to meet its goal of 50 gigawatts by 2030, Adani Group is also engaged in manufacturing solar panel wafers, ingots, and wind turbines. Sagar Adani, who oversees these efforts and is the son of Rajesh Adani, younger brother of patriarch Gautam Adani, emphasizes that these actions align with the group’s broader clean energy ambitions.

Despite India surpassing a major milestone of 200 gigawatts in clean power capacity earlier this year, the nation must accelerate its green energy additions to reach a target of 500 gigawatts by the end of the decade. This is essential for reducing dependence on fossil fuels and addressing the growing electricity demand, as Sagar notes.

“We anticipate that about 600 million people will become significantly larger consumers of energy in the coming years,” Sagar Adani explained. “It is crucial for the government to meet their basic energy needs. In alignment with this, we are committed to doing everything necessary to support this energy transition.”