Dr Harshdeep Kamble, Principal Secretary (Industries), and Dr Amit Paithankar, Group President (Manufacturing), ReNew Power, shaking hands at the signing of EoI. Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM; Uday Samant, Industries Minister, and other dignitaries also are seen.

 

 

In what could be a very big project for Vidarbha region in general and Nagpur in particular, Nasdaq-listed firm ReNew Power signed expression of interest (EoI) with State Department of Industries for investing around Rs 18,000 crore to set up metallurgical grade silicon, polysilicon and ingot-wafer manufacturing facility in Nagpur. Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister and Guardian Minister of Nagpur district, witnessed the EoI signing ceremony and called this a ‘huge step!’. The ceremony of signing the EoI between ReNew Power and Maharashtra’s Department of Industries took place in Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai on Friday. Dr Harshdeep Kamble, Principal Secretary (Industries), and Dr Amit Paithankar, Group President (Manufacturing), ReNew Power, signed the EoI in presence of Fadnavis; Uday Samant, Industries Minister; Servet Sert, Chief Technology Officer, ReNew; Dr Markus Sickmoeller, Chief Operating Officer, ReNew Manufacturing Business; Dipendrasinh Kushwah, Commissioner (Industries); Vipin Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of Maharashtra Industries Development Corporation; Malikner, Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Speaking at the EoI signing ceremony, Fadnavis said that several big project were coming to Maharashtra as the State had conducive atmosphere for their industrial growth.

 

He assured all co-operation to ReNew Power for the proposed project. Samant said that EoI signing ceremony marked the beginning of a new era. “This investment is historic in many ways as it brings highly sophisticated manufacturing technology and process to Maharashtra especially in solar energy sector. This will also lead to creating more than 8,000 direct jobs. The company also intends to setup state-of-the-art R&D facility in close proximity of the plant to conduct breakthrough research to develop cutting edge products for the future,” Fadnavis tweeted after the ceremony. He also mentioned that encouraging such investments furthered Maharashtra Government’s commitment to a more sustainable future, in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When commissioned, he added, this plant will usher in a new change in Vidarbha region, which will become the ‘Solar backbone of the country’. According to officials in the know of things, it will be one of the largest metallurgical grade silicon (mg-Si), polysilicon, and Ingot-Wafer manufacturing plants. In layman’s terms, the unit will manufacture cells in solar panels.

 

The investment in this particular sector will change the complexion of Vidarbha region in general and Nagpur in particular. Apart from 8,000 direct jobs, and 12,000 indirect jobs. Hot and dry climate of Vidarbha is conducive for manufacturing of these wafers. Besides, time-saving connectivity of the region with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust through Samruddhi Expressway will be an advantage for the economic activity, said an official. Meanwhile, as per the official press release, ReNew Power will manufacture 10 GW of metallurgical grade silicon, 10 GW polysilicon, 6 GW Ingot-Wafer, and 1 GW module at the Nagpur plant. The plant will be set up on 500 acres of land. Through ancillary units, additional investment of Rs 2,000 crore will come.