On Thursday, April 23, 2026, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for ReNew Corp’s mega solar manufacturing facility in Rambilli, Anakapalli district.
Valued at ₹5,400 crore, this project is a cornerstone of India’s mission to achieve “energy sovereignty” by manufacturing the fundamental building blocks of solar power—ingots and wafers—domestically.
Project Blueprint: The Rambilli Facility
The facility is one of India’s first large-scale greenfield plants dedicated to the upstream solar value chain, moving beyond the simple assembly of imported parts.
- Annual Capacity: 6.5 GW of solar ingots and wafers.
- Investment: ₹5,400 crore, part of ReNew’s larger ₹82,000 crore commitment to Andhra Pradesh.
- Timeline: Expected to be commissioned within 24 months (by early 2028).
- Employment: Set to generate over 2,100 direct and indirect jobs, positioning Anakapalli as a rising industrial hub.
Strategic Importance: Plugging the “Value Chain” Gap
While India has scaled its solar module capacity to 172 GW as of early 2026, it has remained over 90% dependent on imports (primarily from China) for the upstream components.
- Backward Integration: The Rambilli plant will supply wafers to ReNew’s existing cell and module manufacturing units in Gujarat and Rajasthan, creating a “closed-loop” domestic supply chain.
- ALMM Readiness: The government has proposed including solar wafers under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) starting June 1, 2028. ReNew’s 2028 commissioning timeline aligns perfectly with this regulatory shift.
- State Vision: CM Naidu highlighted that this facility supports the “Andhra Pradesh Integrated Clean Energy Policy 2024,” which targets 160 GW of green energy production for the state.
The “Integrated Clean Energy” Ecosystem
The foundation stone ceremony was more than a single-project launch; it signaled a massive industrial shift in Andhra Pradesh:
- Hybrid Projects: ReNew is also developing a 2.8 GW wind-solar hybrid project (with 2 GW of Battery Storage) in Anantapur, valued at ₹22,000 crore.
- Green Hydrogen: The state is attracting multi-billion dollar proposals from NTPC Green Energy (₹1.85 lakh crore) to develop green ammonia and hydrogen hubs near Visakhapatnam.
- Decentralized Solar: The CM announced a target to equip 40 lakh households with rooftop solar to decentralize the state’s power grid.
“Andhra Pradesh is rapidly transforming into a global hub for clean energy. This project by ReNew is a critical step toward self-reliance, moving us from mere deployment to full-ecosystem manufacturing.” — N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh.
