Longi Green Energy Technology, a Chinese solar products manufacturer and Longi Solar will invest $309m to expand their solar cell and module factory in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Longi Solar, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Longi Green Energy Technology, is a manufacturer of mono cells and modules.

Through their expansion project, the Indian factory is expected to double its manufacturing capacity from 500MW to 1GW. The expansion will be done to cater to fast growing demand for solar energy in India and also to increase the group’s overseas sales.

Out of the $309m investment, Longi will allocate around $240m for construction and nearly $68m in working capital.

The expanded solar module factory is slated to begin production by the end of August 2019. On the other hand, the expanded cell factory is likely to begin production in January 2020.

Longi Solar president Wenxue Li said: “The expansion of our Andhra Pradesh factory is part of LONGi's global growth strategy. While global demand for solar modules continues to grow, LONGi is making moderate capacity investments in select markets to hedge against the risks of trade protectionism, while remaining focused on the Chinese domestic market.”

Wenxue Li revealed that preliminary estimates suggest that the expansion project will support $380m in annual sales and nearly $19m in annual net profit.

Longi said that by expanding its production capacity in India, it can tap into the country’s vast local resources, low costs and generous policies toward the solar industry. Additionally, it is also an opportunity to speed up its global expansion and improve its share of the international market for mono-crystalline products, said the Chinese firm.

Wenxue Li said: “India is already China's biggest export market for solar products by sales value. During 2017, China's exports accounted for 24.1 percent of India's solar products, with sales growth seen in both cells and modules.”

Lerri Solar Technology (India), which is 40% owned by Longi and 60% owned by Longi Solar, is operating the solar cell and module factory in Andhra Pradesh.

Last month, Longi Solar revealed its plans to invest RMB1.95bn ($310m) to build a 5GW module factory in the Chinese city of Chuzhou in Anhui Province.

Image: Longi Solar manufactures mono cells and modules. Photo: courtesy of LONGi Solar.