Moser Baer to set up Rs 2000 cr Chennai unit

Just a few days after the Centre announced its investment guidelines for the Indian semiconductor industry, New Delhi-based leading optical storage media manufacturer Moser Baer (India) has chosen Chennai to set up a Rs 2,000 crore solar photovoltaic fabrication facility.

This signals a new era in the state's emergence as an electronics manufacturing hub.

Photovoltaics (PVs) produce electricity from a light source "" sunlight, for instance. A basic photovoltaic, also known as a solar cell, is made by materials such as silicon and thin filaments, commonly used in the micro-electronics industry. Solar cells that are connected together mounted on a frame or platform are called PV modules. Moser Baer makes both solar cells as well as modules.

The solar PV facility is expected to come up on 120 acres at the Oragadam-Sriperumbudur SIPCOT SEZ. However, the company has sought about 250 acres for its Chennai unit, provisioning for future expansion. The plant will be developed in two stages. In the first stage, a single thin-film solar fabrication facility will be set up in 15-18 months following the land acquisition process, according to Moser Baer officials.

In the initial phase, the plant would create around 4,000 jobs, including for engineers and research scientists, said Deepak Puri, managing director, Moser Baer India, while addressing the CII's Connect 2007 here today. The company expects to fund its Chennai expansion through internal growth accruals. The plant is expected to generate revenues to the tune of $1 billion over the next 3-5 years.

Puri said Moser Baer had decided to move into Tamil Nadu due to the support of a progressive government, efficient administration and investor-friendly policies followed by the state. Shaktikanta Das, secretary, industries, government of Tamil Nadu, said the Moser Baer project was the first of its kind in India, which would lay the foundation for a semiconductor manufacturing eco-system and widen the parameters of electronic manufacturing in the state.

The global photovoltaic market is on a high growth curve, with sales expected to grow over six times to $40 billion by 2010. Moser Baer recently announced the shipment of its PV cells and claims to have orders and MoUs exceeding $100 million (around Rs 410 crore). It also has plans to set up a unit in Andhra Pradesh and, reportedly, is in talks with other state governments for its expansion plans.

The company is also working on the "thin-film" technology to make solar cells. It had announced an investment of $250 million (around Rs 1,110 crore) over the next three years to set up the largest thin-film solar fabrication (fab) facility in the world.

Thin-film solar modules are ideal for energy farms, rural applications and building integrated photovoltaic markets.