Premier Energies plans to invest Rs 60 bn over three years to set up ingot and wafer capacity, aiming to become a fully integrated solar manufacturer. The company already manufactures three point six gigawatt (GW) of cells and 11.1 GW of modules annually from plants near Hyderabad in Telangana. The move will create upstream capacity for cell production, which requires wafers cut from ingots.

The investment aligns with the government's push for self-reliance in solar manufacturing under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers framework. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy expanded the ALMM to include ingots and wafers, a change announced on 18 March and due to take effect from 1 June 2028. This expansion is designed to strengthen the domestic ecosystem and encourage local manufacture of all components for use in the Indian market.

Company executive Rustagi indicated that the policy roadmap drove the decision and that, from 2028 onwards, ingots and wafers consumed domestically will be required to be made in India. He said the new capacity is being set up primarily to meet the company's captive needs but that the firm will also seek to sell wafers in the open market. The investments are therefore presented as both a compliance and commercial strategy.

Premier Energies expects the ingot and wafer projects to complete its value chain and to support expansion of module output without depending on imports for upstream inputs. The company will leverage existing cell and module plants around Hyderabad to integrate production flows and reduce supply chain risks. Observers see the move as part of a broader industry shift towards localisation driven by policy incentives.