Ambani's plan to invest Rs 75,000 crore to build end-to-end solar power generation facilities will change the business landscape and increase competition. So far, it was a cakewalk for Adani Green and Tata Power in getting new projects and acquiring new technologies.
As Mukesh Ambani disrupted the businesses of incumbents in telecom with the launch of Reliance Jio, the richest Indian is drawing up plans to checkmate the likes of Adani and Tata in solar power.
His plan to invest Rs 75,000 crore in the next three years to build end-to-end solar power generation facilities will change the business landscape and increase competition. So far, it was a cakewalk for Adani Green Energy Ltd and Tata Power Company Ltd in getting new projects and acquisition of new technologies.
Ambani wants to build four 'Giga' factories in Jamnagar to make solar photovoltaic cells, green hydrogen, batteries and fuel cells for Rs 60,000 crore. These manufacturing units will power his dreams to build 100GW of solar energy generation capacity.
We will invest an additional Rs 15,000 crore in the value chain, partnerships and future technologies, including upstream and downstream industries," he said at the annual general meeting (AGM). With this, the total investment in the new energy business will be Rs 75,000 crore in three years, he added.
Solar energy is gaining prominence nowadays as it's the source of clean and cheap power. But the interests of large corporations in the manufacturing and fossil fuel business are different. They are increasingly entering into solar power production to earn carbon credits to offset the carbon footprint. Ambani's target is also the same as RIL wants to earn the tag of zero carbon by 2035.
Global petroleum companies like BP Plc, Chevron and ExxonMobil have already announced solar plans to offset the carbon they emit in the air. However, Ambani's foray in solar will fuel the growth of the Indian economy, said Sandeep Gupta, Managing Director, Protiviti Member Firm for India.
Tata Power has 1,705 MW of solar power generation capacity. Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, recently announced the expansion of its manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, taking the total production capacity of cells and modules to 1,100 MW. Adani Green has 3,023 MW solar units in operation and 8,150 MW under construction.