The initial investment is set to create 1,000 new jobs and will, according to Xi’an Longi Silicon Materials chairman Baoshen Zhong, “boost production of clean energy equipment in the country.”
This project is planned alongside another Rs80 billion ($1.2 billion) solar investment by Xi’an Longi Silicon Materials, which will generate an additional 5,000 jobs.
The manufacturing facility will be set-up at Sri City, in Chittoor district, and will be able to produce 1 GW of solar cells and modules. The proposed solar park is expected to have a capacity of 500 MW.
Such foreign investment is integral to India’s renewable target, which, under the National Solar Mission, aims to produce 100 GW by 2022.
Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, noted that this project represented promising investment from China and that solar power was the best solution for his state for sustainable economic growth.