cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10395497
- Tata Power sees a potential 2-3 GW market for Indian-made solar cells and modules in at least one European country.
- The company has 4.9 GW of integrated cell and module capacity and plans up to 10 GW of upstream ingot and wafer manufacturing.
- Indian supply could help Europe reduce its reliance on China, although diversification through imports is not the same as rebuilding European manufacturing.
Tata Power is preparing to export solar cells and modules to Europe for the first time as procurement rules and energy security concerns encourage developers to seek alternatives to Chinese equipment.
Chief executive Praveer Sinha told reporters during a post-results call that the Indian company had identified a potential opportunity of between 2-3 GW in one European country. He did not name the market or disclose any specific orders.
Tata Power currently has 4.9 GW of integrated cell and module manufacturing capacity. It is also considering up to 10 GW of capacity to manufacture solar ingots and wafers, the upstream materials needed to produce cells.
The proposed exports would represent a significant change from late 2024, when Sinha said output from the company’s new Tamil Nadu factory was committed to the Indian market for the following 12 to 16 months. Since then, India’s manufacturing base has expanded rapidly, creating greater pressure to identify overseas customers.
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Europe offers a large but highly contested market. More than 95% of solar modules installed in the EU are imported, with China accounting for roughly 94% of module and cell supplies in 2023. Low Chinese prices have supported rapid deployment but contributed to factory closures and weak investment in European manufacturing.
The EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act seeks to reduce that exposure by introducing resilience and sustainability criteria into renewable energy auctions. It also sets an ambition for European manufacturing capacity to approach 40% of the bloc’s annual deployment needs by 2030.
Italy provided an early test of the approach in 2025, awarding more than 1.1 GW to 88 solar projects in its first auction restricted to equipment made outside China. The average tariff was €66.38/MWh, around 17% higher than in earlier auctions without sourcing restrictions, according to Reuters.
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Supply chain resilience
Indian manufacturers' equipment can offer buyers an alternative to Chinese final assembly without carrying the full cost of European production. An EU-India trade agreement concluded earlier this year, which reduced tariffs on most goods, could improve that proposition further.
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However, the distinction between assembly location and supply chain origin will matter. Unless suppliers can demonstrate where wafers, polysilicon and other inputs were produced, modules assembled in India may still contain a substantial amount of Chinese material. Tata Power’s planned upstream expansion could therefore prove more strategically important than its existing module capacity.
The development is relevant to the UK even though EU procurement rules do not apply directly. The UK’s Solar Roadmap calls for more resilient, diverse and sustainable supply chains, with particular emphasis on traceability and eliminating forced labour.
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