Indian solar manufacturer Premier Energies has decided to halt its plan to build a solar cell factory in the United States.
On February 3, 2025, Premier Energies announced this news during an investor conference call, stating that it has changed the investment status of its U.S. battery production line to “under review” and will not invest any funds in battery manufacturing until the situation regarding the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) becomes clearer.
Less than a year ago, Premier Energies and Canadian solar manufacturer Heliene established a joint venture to build an n-type solar cell factory in the United States with an annual nameplate capacity of 1GW.
On his first day in office, U.S. President Trump signed a series of executive orders outlining his government’s plans for the next four years. The President announced his challenge to the IRA and signed an executive order to revoke some parts of it; however, it is still unclear which parts will be revoked.
“As a company, we have made a clear decision not to proceed with the investment project until we have a comprehensive and clear understanding of this topic,” Premier Energies said during the investor conference call.
Although the company has temporarily shelved its plans in the United States, its exports outside India are expected to not exceed 3%. According to the company’s statement during the investor conference call, its current focus is on the Indian market.
Regarding solar manufacturing expansion, the company shared detailed information about its manufacturing expansion timeline during the call, with a 1GW TOPCon solar cell and module line to be completed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 and a 4GW line to be completed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027.
By June 2026, this will bring the company’s annual nameplate capacity for solar cells and modules to 7GW and 9.1GW, respectively.
Further upstream, Premier Energies aims to commission 2GW of silicon wafer nameplate capacity annually, while its aluminum frame business targets a nameplate annual capacity of 36,000 metric tons.
Regarding the Indian market, the company expects the annual installed capacity of the rooftop market to reach between 9-10GW in the coming years. Residential solar will account for the majority of this share, reaching 6GW to 7GW, while the company predicts that commercial and industrial solar will increase by 2.5GW to 3GW.
