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					</table><p>The Gujarat government <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/gujarat-announces-top-up-subsidy-for-smaller-pm-surya-ghar-consumers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an additional state subsidy for residential consumers installing rooftop solar systems up to 2.18 kW under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.</p>
<p>In an interview with Mercom India, Bernhard Rack, CEO of Agastya Energy, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/indias-solar-wafer-expansion-faces-utilization-and-cost-challenges-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discussed</a> the risks of overcapacity in India&#8217;s solar wafer manufacturing industry, cost disadvantages compared with Chinese manufacturers, the implications of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers List-III, and India’s prospects as a solar wafer exporter.</p>
<p>The Ministry of Power <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/ministry-of-power-unveils-framework-for-secure-electricity-data-sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> the National Electricity Data Sharing Framework, 2026, to enable secure, standardized electricity data sharing. The voluntary framework classifies shareable datasets as public or access-controlled and outlines requirements for access, governance, cybersecurity, and privacy.</p>
<p>Commercial and industrial rooftop solar developers in Tamil Nadu <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/old-industrial-building-structures-limit-rooftop-solar-sizing-in-tamil-nadu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">face</a> structural and electrical infrastructure constraints that limit the capacity they can install at their facilities, even when sufficient rooftop space is available.</p>
<p>India’s solar operations and maintenance segment is <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/longer-contracts-higher-expectations-reshape-indias-solar-om-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moving</a> beyond routine equipment servicing as developers and asset owners place greater emphasis on long-term generation performance, equipment availability, and operational reliability.</p>
<p>China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/china-proposes-stricter-efficiency-standards-for-solar-manufacturers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> stricter manufacturing standards for solar cells and modules, introducing minimum conversion efficiency requirements for different technologies and setting limits on energy consumption, water usage, and module degradation.</p>
<p>Solar power purchase agreement (PPA) prices in North America <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/solar-ppa-prices-rise-6-yoy-in-north-america-fall-4-in-europe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> 6% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2026, while prices in Europe declined 4.1%, according to LevelTen Energy‘s latest PPA Price Index reports.</p>
<p>Power Grid Corporation of India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/powergrid-commissions-project-to-evacuate-renewable-energy-in-karnataka" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commissioned</a> a transmission project to evacuate renewable energy in Koppal and Gadag, Karnataka.</p>
<p>Rwanda’s Energy Development Corporation <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/rwanda-energy-corporation-tenders-floating-solar-plus-storage-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> bids from independent power producers to set up a floating solar project with a battery energy storage system at Lake Sake, Ngoma District, in the country’s Eastern Province.</p>
<p>Renewable energy solutions company Fourth Partner Energy <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/fourth-partner-energy-secures-%E2%82%B97-5-billion-to-finance-wind-solar-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> ₹7.5 billion (~$79.27 million) from Tata Capital – Cleantech Finance to develop its ongoing solar-plus-wind project with an integrated battery energy storage system in Maharashtra.</p>
<p>Pivot Energy, a distributed solar and energy storage developer and independent power producer, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/pivot-energy-secures-500-million-corporate-credit-facility" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secured</a> a $500 million corporate credit facility from Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Capital (Nuveen EIC).</p>
<p>Peak Energy, a sodium-ion battery manufacturer, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/peak-energy-raises-108-million-to-expand-sodium-ion-battery-manufacturing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> $108 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round led by General Motors Ventures to expand its sodium-ion battery manufacturing operations.</p>
<p>VECKTA, an energy planning and procurement platform, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/veckta-raises-11million-expand-onsite-solar-storage-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> $11 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Origin Ventures. The funding will support expanding the company’s U.S. customer team, product capabilities, partnerships, and supplier network.</p>


Daily News Wrap-Up: Gujarat Announces Top-up Subsidy for Rooftop Solar


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					</table><p>India&#8217;s planned expansion of solar ingot and wafer manufacturing capacity could lead to oversupply unless production growth aligns with domestic demand and exports.</p>
<p>Agastya Energy has announced plans to invest approximately ₹78 billion (~$826.46 million) in a 12 GW ingot and wafer manufacturing facility at Orvakal in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. The project is expected to generate more than 3,500 jobs and complement the company&#8217;s planned 5 GW solar cell and module manufacturing capacity.</p>
<p>With India&#8217;s ingot and wafer capacity projected to reach approximately 80 GW by June 2028, manufacturers face challenges related to capacity utilization, production costs, import dependence, and global competitiveness.</p>
<p>In an interview with Mercom India, Bernhard Rack, CEO of <a href="https://agastyaenergy.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Agastya Energy</a>, discussed the risks of overcapacity, cost disadvantages compared with Chinese manufacturers, the implications of ALMM List-III, and India&#8217;s prospects as a solar wafer exporter.</p>
<p><strong>With India&#8217;s ingot and wafer capacity expanding ahead of the 2028 ALMM mandate, is there a risk of oversupply? What utilization would a 12 GW facility need to remain globally competitive?</strong></p>
<p>Yes, the risk is real. Official projections point to around 80 GW of ingot and wafer capacity by June 2028. The demand that matters is operating cell capacity that can qualify and consume those wafers, and that is ultimately bound by installations and exports. India installed a record of nearly 45 GW last financial year. We have watched module capacity run ahead of demand; we should not repeat that upstream.</p>
<p>Ingots and wafers are far more capital-intensive than modules, so utilization decides everything. To be globally competitive, a 12 GW plant needs to run consistently at 80–85% of saleable output. At 60%, fixed cost per watt is 50% higher than at 85%.</p>
<p><strong>Where will the biggest cost gaps between Indian and Chinese wafers remain, and what would it take to close them?</strong></p>
<p>Not in labor, and over time, not in yield. Indian engineers will close the yield and silicon-consumption gaps within a few years of running. Learning curves can be climbed.</p>
<p>The gaps that persist are structural: the cost of capital, the cost of power and the depth of the supplier ecosystem. Chinese producers finance plants more cheaply, run pullers on low-cost power and source consumables nearby. Buying the same equipment does not buy the same operating economics. Closing the gap needs round-the-clock renewable power at competitive tariffs, long-tenor financing for upstream assets and consumables localized around manufacturing clusters.</p>
<p><strong>Which upstream inputs will India continue to import despite localizing ingot and wafer manufacturing? Which dependency poses the greatest strategic risk?</strong></p>
<p>Localizing ingots and wafers moves the dependency upstream; it does not remove it. In the near term, almost all polysilicon, most quartz crucibles, diamond wire and the bulk of pullers and wire saws will be imported, largely from China. Graphite parts and process gases are easier to localize.</p>
<p>The biggest strategic risk is polysilicon. It is the largest single cost input; India has no commercial production yet, and more than 90% of global supply sits in one country. It also determines traceability. Close behind is equipment: a puller without spare parts and service support is an expensive idle asset.</p>
<p><strong>How can manufacturers future-proof a 12 GW facility against evolving wafer sizes, thicknesses, and cell technologies?</strong></p>
<p>The semiconductor industry learned, in the move from 200 mm to 300 mm, that the wrong format can strand an entire fab. In solar, the lock-in sits mainly in the hot zone and ingot diameter, less in slicing.</p>
<p>The principles are simple. Choose pullers that can grow the larger diameters the roadmap points to, so today&#8217;s formats and tomorrow&#8217;s come from the same platform. Go thinner where saleable yield and cell performance justify it, not for silicon savings alone. Design for quality, because back-contact and tandem cells will demand longer lifetimes and tighter oxygen control. Building in phases lets each tranche take the latest equipment.</p>
<p><strong>Where will the first major supply-demand mismatch emerge in India&#8217;s solar manufacturing value chain, and how will it affect margins?</strong></p>
<p>The first mismatch is already here, in modules: well over 200 GW of nameplate capacity running at roughly 35–40% utilization. Cells are next. Capacity is expected to grow from about 35 GW to as much as 100 GW within a year, turning today&#8217;s shortage into a surplus faster than many expect. Wafers could follow around 2028–29 if every announced project is built. Polysilicon is the exception: too little supply, not too much.</p>
<p>Margins move to the scarce link. Today that is cells. As cell capacity arrives, that premium will narrow and margin will shift upstream to wafers for a period, even while modules stay oversupplied.</p>
<p><strong>Could ALMM List-III increase domestic wafer prices? How much of a premium over imports can manufacturers absorb before project economics are affected?</strong></p>
<p>In the first year or two, yes. Early supply will be concentrated, plants will still be ramping yields, and much of the first capacity belongs to integrated groups that will use it themselves.</p>
<p>But perspective matters. At today&#8217;s prices, wafers are well under a tenth of the price of a domestic-content module, so even a 20–25% wafer premium adds only 2-3% at module level. The real risk is stacking, where premiums on wafers, cells and modules compound into project tariffs. What the market can absorb depends on discipline across the whole chain.</p>
<p><strong>Will the requirement for three independent manufacturers with a combined 15 GW capacity under ALMM List-III adequately address supply concentration concerns?</strong></p>
<p>The threshold is a sensible safeguard. The initial List-III will not be issued until at least three independent units with a combined 15 GW are available, so the mandate cannot bite on a single-supplier market.</p>
<p>But eligibility is not availability. With cells, most listed capacity is captive and only a small fraction reaches the open market. Wafers could follow the same pattern, so merchant availability is the number to watch in the first year.</p>
<p><strong>Which operating metrics will determine whether Indian ingot and wafer manufacturing can compete globally without regulatory protection?</strong></p>
<p>Three numbers. First, silicon consumption per saleable watt. It captures yield, kerf loss and wafer thickness together, and since polysilicon is the largest cost item, this is where competitiveness is won or lost. Second, puller productivity: kilograms per puller per day, and how many ingots each crucible delivers. Third, energy cost per kilogram, combining consumption and tariff.</p>
<p>The honest test is simple: could the plant sell profitably at import parity if List-III disappeared tomorrow? If not, the regulation is carrying the business.</p>
<p><strong>What must India do to become a competitive solar wafer exporter, and where could its first major export opportunities emerge?</strong></p>
<p>Capacity is necessary but not sufficient. We need non-Chinese polysilicon because traceability is what export customers will pay for. We need quality proven over years, because cell makers qualify wafer suppliers slowly. And we need power and financing costs closer to global benchmarks.</p>
<p>On price alone, Indian wafers will not undercut Chinese wafers for some years. But markets are no longer purely open. The United States is adding cell capacity far faster than wafer capacity, and the new duties on Indian cells and modules make wafers the more credible export product. The first customers will be overseas cell makers seeking a qualified second source with traceable supply.</p>


India’s Solar Wafer Expansion Faces Utilization and Cost Challenges: Interview


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					</table><p>Agastya Energy and Infrastructure’s (<a href="https://agastyaenergy.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Agastya Energy</a>) board of directors has approved a preferential issue of equity shares and convertible warrants totaling approximately ₹5.66 billion (~$59.32 million).</p>
<p>The New Delhi-based company, part of the Anubhav Agarwal Group, operates across the renewable energy sector, including solar module and cell manufacturing, independent power production, engineering, procurement, and construction, and operations and maintenance.</p>
<p>The transaction remains subject to shareholder approval and other regulatory and statutory approvals.</p>
<p>Anubhav Agarwal, chairman of Anubhav Agarwal Group, said the capital raise would strengthen the company’s financial position and as it pursues opportunities across India’s energy and infrastructure sectors.</p>
<p>Agastya Energy is expanding its solar manufacturing capabilities across ingots, wafers, cells, and modules. The company said it aims to develop an integrated solar manufacturing platform and increase integration across the solar value chain.</p>
<p>The development comes almost a month after  Agastya Green Energy <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/agastya-green-energy-to-invest-%E2%82%B978-billion-in-12-gw-solar-ingot-wafer-plant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it will invest approximately ₹78 billion (~$816.48 million) to establish 12 GW each of solar ingot and wafer manufacturing capacity in Andhra Pradesh. The facility will be located at the Orvakal Industrial Area in Kurnool. The expansion into ingot and wafer manufacturing will integrate these upstream operations with the company’s cell and module manufacturing capabilities.</p>
<p>Agastya Green Energy was also one of the <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/uppcl-announces-winners-1-5-gwh-battery-storage-auction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">winners</a> of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation’s 375 MW/1,500 MWh standalone battery energy storage auction in May. The tender was floated in September 2025.</p>
<p>According to Mercom Capital Group’s 1H and Q2 2026 Solar Funding and M&amp;A Report, global solar companies <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/solar-corporate-funding-jumps-56-yoy-to-16-9-billion-in-1h-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised </a>$16.9 billion in corporate funding during the first half of 2026, a 56% year-over-year increase from $10.8 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. The number of corporate funding deals increased by 23%, from 78 in 1H 2025 to 96 in 1H 2026. Solar downstream companies recorded the highest venture capital activity, raising $884 million across 22 deals in 1H 2026.</p>


Agastya Energy Approves ₹5.66 Billion Preferential Share Issue

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