Gautam Solar doubles local manufacturing capacity to 250 MW

Solar power equipment maker Gautam Solar announced it has more than doubled its panel manufacturing capacity from 120 Megawatt (MW) to 250 MW at its facility in Haridwar.
“This boost in production has made Gautam solar the third-largest solar manufacturer in North India,” the company said in a statement, adding it is imperative to raise local production and reduce imports from countries like China.
The higher domestic manufacturing capacity will help reduce dependence on foreign solar manufacturers and India can also venture into the global solar market which would give a liquidity boost to the country, the company said.
“Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in India is also working on the same objective as it is expected to add 10,000 MW of integrated solar PV manufacturing capacity and bring direct investments of about Rs 17,200 crore,” the company said.
Commenting on the development, Gautam Mohanka, Managing Director, Gautam Solar said: “We have been witnessing a steady increase in demand for our solar panels for a while now, hence increasing the manufacturing capacity became vital.” He added the firm will increase the production capacity at other facilities, too, soon.
Before announcing the new PLI scheme, the government had announced its decision to impose 40 per cent basic customs duty on solar modules and 25 per cent on solar cells beginning 1 April 2022 in a move that would make imports costlier and encourage local manufacturing.