Tata Power Solar made 1 GW of modules and 0.9 GW of cells in Q2 as Tirunelveli plant stays at full use

Tata Power, which runs power plants and sells rooftop and utility solar systems, said its Tirunelveli factory made 1 GW of solar modules and 0.9 GW of solar cells in July-September 2026 . Output for April-September reached 2 GW of modules and 1.8 GW of cells . The steady run shows the 4.3 GW plant is near full use and feeds its own solar farms as well as outside buyers.

Q2 output held near record pace

TP Solar Limited is the solar manufacturing arm of Tata Power and a wholly owned unit of Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited . It runs one of India's largest single-location plants at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu with 4.3 GW of cell and module capacity .

Tata Power, through TPREL, has invested nearly Rs 4,300 crore to build it . The plant uses TOPCon and Mono PERC cell designs with automated guided vehicles and computer-led controls . Its modules follow Domestic Content Requirement norms and are listed under the government's Approved List of Models and Manufacturers .

Module line runs full while cell line trades yield for efficiency

Period	Modules produced	Cells produced
Q2 FY26	970 MW	928 MW
Q3 FY26	990 MW	962 MW
Q4 FY26	915 MW	964 MW
Q1 FY27	1,001 MW	862 MW
Q2 FY27	1 GW	0.9 GW

The trend for Q2 FY26 to Q1 FY27 comes from the Q1 FY27 presentation , with Q2 FY27 from the October press release .

Modules held at a peak while cells eased in the last two quarters. Management said on the July 2026 call that plants started two years back are now operating at full capacity . The module plant crossed 1,000 MW for the first time in Q1 FY27 and had virtually peaked, while cell output was still catching up .

The dip was deliberate. Cells fell because of a line change to make higher-efficiency products . There was some sacrifice on yield to gain efficiency that can command a premium . Plant yield was 96.3% for modules and 87% for cells in Q1 FY27 . Management expected both yield and efficiency to peak together in Q2 FY27 .

Outside sales lifted profit faster than output

TP Solar, quarter to June	Q1 FY26	Q1 FY27
Operating income, Rs crore	1,613	2,462
EBITDA, Rs crore	294	626
PAT, Rs crore	96	371
EBITDA margin	18%	25%

The figures and margin levels come from the Q1 FY27 presentation, which links them to better sale price to external customers and better operating efficiency and sales mix .

Profit grew faster than sales. The presentation attributes the jump to input cost efficiency and a diversified sales mix with more than 63% of modules and more than 50% of cells sold to external customers .

That follows a strong FY26. The plant delivered PAT of Rs 857 crore in FY26, more than double the previous year . In Q3 FY26 the plant had EBITDA margin close to 28% . Management said it was among the highest in terms of margin and should stay consistent now that the plant has stabilized .

Own projects give the factory a ready buyer

Tata Power owns 88.57% of the renewables business through TPREL, which includes generation, engineering, rooftop and solar manufacturing . In Q1 FY27 that cluster grew on manufacturing, generators and rooftop, partly offset by third-party engineering work . Management has repurposed engineering staff to own projects and discontinued new third-party solar engineering work .

The in-house pipeline was 5.5 GW on the July call . The plan for FY27 was to set up 2,500 MW to 2,700 MW of own renewables from a base of 6.7 GW to cross 9 GW by year-end . In Q1 FY27 the company commissioned 226 MW of in-house utility renewables to reach 6.7 GW of installed renewable capacity . It saw another 500 MW ready within weeks, supporting 800 MW to 900 MW of commissioning in Q2 FY27 .

The build is capital heavy. Q1 FY27 saw quarterly capex of Rs 5,375 crore . Management guided to Rs 25,000 crore for FY27 with about half for renewables . Net debt to equity was 1.25 in Q1 FY27 , described as within guardrails .

Rooftop growth replaces third-party engineering work

Solar EPC, quarter to June, Rs crore	Q1 FY26	Q1 FY27
Solar rooftop	823	1,350
Large projects and group captive	1,440	411

The split and the reasons of lower third-party billing and higher rooftop billing come from the Q1 FY27 presentation .

Rooftop billed 371 MWp in Q1 FY27, up 37% from a year earlier . Management said majority of under-construction solar projects can use ALMM modules . That links the factory to 5.3 GW under construction and the target of 2.5 GW of renewable addition in FY27 .

Third-party cell sales were very small and opportunistic where imported cells could be used . Management said such sales may continue for a few quarters for open access and group captive work before fading .

Import duties and local-content rules protect domestic panels

Domestic prices sit above imported prices because of import duty of 40% on modules and 25% on cells plus ALMM and Domestic Content Requirement barriers .

Management said ALMM-II continues for rooftop and utility projects . Only a small proviso for very limited open access or behind-the-meter projects was carved out, at maybe 10% of requirement, with no impact for Tata Power .

That matters for demand. Subsidy-linked rooftop must use Indian-made cells and modules, and from 1 June 2026 many utility projects must use only Indian-made cells, with many FY27 projects not grandfathered . To go further up the chain, Tata Power signed a memorandum for land in Odisha for an ingot-wafer plant in Q1 FY27 . When asked if that commitment remains on track, management answered Yes .

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