Lokesh Hails Premier Energies Naidupeta Solar Complex

Vijayawada: Education and IT minister Nara Lokesh on Friday narrated the Premier Energies story as a testament to Andhra Pradesh’s speed, clarity and industry-first vision that culminated in a Rs 5,942 crore, fully integrated solar manufacturing complex at Naidupeta Industrial Park, Nellore.

Framed as a founder-style journey, Lokesh outlined how decisive execution, ports-led logistics and proactive incentives enabled India’s second-largest integrated solar player to anchor its next growth chapter in Andhra Pradesh.

Appearing on his social media page, the IT minister said, “The journey began in October 2024 with focused discussions on building deep upstream capacity, cells, ingots and wafers, to secure India’s solar value chain against global supply shocks.”

The state, he said, treated the project as nation-building infrastructure, aligning clear milestones, inter-departmental coordination, and single-window facilitation around an aggressive commissioning timeline.

APIIC fast-tracked 269 acres at Naidupeta—169.71 acres allotted and 100 acres in principle—backed by trunk infrastructure and immediate port connectivity for heavy upstream logistics. The land allotment was completed by Feb 2025, barely months after talks began, signifying a no-red-tape, outcomes-first approach that gave the investor confidence to consolidate and integrate capacities in one scalable location, he said.

The minister underlined what this integration meant: a 4GW TOPCon solar cell facility co-located with a 5GW silicon ingot and wafer plant at Nellore, ensuring backward integration, tighter process control and lower cost-to-serve for both domestic and export markets.

“This co-location move strengthens operational synergy while complementing the company’s existing module capacities, sharpening India’s competitiveness in next-gen PV technologies.”

Explaining the choice of Naidupeta, Lokesh cited port proximity, reliable trunk infrastructure and the state’s port-led industrial strategy that de-risked upstream solar manufacturing at scale. He stressed that the site selection was not incidental but intentional—optimising freight, energy, water and talent availability—so the plant could move from land to line at record pace.

Positioning this win in a broader context, the minister said, "Andhra Pradesh is building a renewable manufacturing corridor that advances self-reliance and export capability in solar energy." He reiterated the state’s commitment to investor-centric reforms, competitive incentives and last-mile facilitation—calling Premier Energies’ decision “a vote of confidence in governance that delivers.”