Bhaskar Silicon plans $1.27 billion solar facility in India

Singapore-based Environ Energy plans to build a $1.27 billion (Rs. 5,500 crores) manufacturing site for solar cells and wafers in India.

Environ subsidiary Bhaskar Silicon intends to build the facility on land in Haldia, near Bangladesh, where it owns 200 acres and has plans to acquire 600 more. The company says the project would be the first integrated polysilicon solar plant in the country.

Bhaskar says it will initially invest $80 million (Rs. 350 crores) to manufacture solar cells based on imported wafers by October 2009. The facility is to add the capability to manufacture wafers in 2011, Bhaskar says, enabling it to produce 250 megawatts of cells annually.

Within two years, the company aims to produce 5,000 metric tons of polysilicon annually and to also supply polysilicon for the semiconductor industry, said Jyoti Poddar, managing director of Bhaskar Silicon.

A dedicated 400-megawatt power plant is also planned for the site, although the company did not specify of what type.

Poddar said the company doesn’t intend to raise money for the project but will likely take on investors including Srei Infrastructure, U.S.-based Perseus and Germany’s Centrotherm Photovoltaics. The West Bengal government said it plans to invest in the project.

A number of manufacturers are building plants to meet the global shortage of polysilicon that has driven up prices in recent years.

Kapolei, Hawaii-based Hoku Scientific (Nasdaq: HOKU) is building a polysilicon plant in Pocatello, Idaho, with first customer shipments planned for early 2009 (see Hoku reduces volume of Solar-Fabrik deal).

Polysilicon leader Hemlock Semiconductor, based in Hemlock, Mich., claims to be the largest global supplier of polysilicon, and is still expanding production (see What silicon shortage, asks Hemlock).

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