BHEL in JV with BEL for solar PV plant

The Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), the state-owned power equipment major and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), the defence PSU, have firmed up plans to float a joint venture company (JVC) during the present fiscal for setting up an integrated 250 Mw solar photovoltaic modules plant.

They have also shortlisted two locations in Karnataka and one in Andhra Pradesh for setting up the plant at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore, a top BHEL official said.

Both companies had signed a memorandum of understanding two years ago to work out the possibility of a joint venture for solar photovoltaic business, setting up manufacturing facility for silicon wafer, solar cells and modules, and to identify suitable vendors/partners for the supply of raw materials including polysilicon for solar photo voltaic business.

“We have shortlisted a place in Kolar district and a place near Bangalore and another place near Hyderabad for setting up the proposed solar photovoltaic plant. However, the board of directors of both BHEL and BEL are yet to give the final approval for the proposal.

The board of BHEL will meet this quarter to take a final call on this matter,” said G Ganapathiraman, executive director, BHEL (EDN & ISG).

The proposed JVC, besides export, will cater to Indian solar products requirements. The integrated plant will manufacture polysilicon ingots, wafers, solar cells, PV modules and panel systems. A joint working group set up by both the companies is presently in talks with several overseas companies in the solar PV sector for a possible technology-cum-investment tie up.

The deal is likely to be finalised during the present financial year, he said. The project will be a backward integration for BHEL as it already manufactures solar PV modules in its Bangalore complex. “The final location will be selected based on the availability of adequate water and power for the plant as it is a power-intensive industry,” he said.

BHEL presently makes silicon modules from wafers. Its product range includes power semiconductor devices, grid interactive, hybrid and standalone PV power plants, space grade solar panels and space quality batteries.

The proposed joint venture will be the first such major facility for manufacturing raw material for solar panels by BHEL and BEL together. Polysilicon is a key component for integrated circuit and central processing unit manufacturers such as AMD and Intel.

The company would mainly sell the solar systems to government agencies that are engaged in the popularisation of solar energy beside exports.

Presently, BEL exports solar cells to Germany, France and Italy among others. BHEL also exports solar modules to countries such as Germany, Australia and Italy.