History
Vikram Solar was founded in 2005 by Gyanesh Chaudhary [9] as a manufacturer of solar modules. It has since moved into engineering, procurement, and construction management, and solar power plant operations and maintenance. [10] [11] Vikram Solar commenced manufacturing operations in 2009 [12] with an installed solar PV module manufacturing capacity of 12.00 MW, which has grown to 3.50 GW installed capacity as on March 2024. [12]
The company has existing manufacturing facilities at Falta SEZ in Kolkata, West Bengal and Oragadam in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
In 2009, Vikram Solar supplied, installed and commissioned 1st phase of 500 KW solar power plant at Solar Park Kottenheim, Germany, its 1st international utility-scale EPC project [12]
In 2011, 3 MW solar plants installed under the National Solar Mission of India [12]
In March 2013, Vikram Solar contributed to the solarisation of World’s 1st solar airport in Kochi, Kerala [13]
In early 2014, the company designed, installed and commissioned India’s 1st ever floating solar plant in Kolkata, WB. In this year, the company was also listed as Tier-1 PV Module Maker in the Bloomberg NEF rankings as of quarter 1 of 2014. [14]
2015-2019
In 2015, Vikram Solar reached a production capacity of 500 MW [12] and signed an agreement with British Solar Renewables (BSR) to supply solar modules with a total output of 30 MW. [15] The company’s modules were awarded the “Excellent Performance” certificate in April. [16] The firm also played a key role in the commissioning of India’s largest rooftop solar installation at Kolkata airport the same year in December. [17]
In 2016, it was recognized as one of the top three solar players in India’s Solar Photovoltaic Market Outlook. [18] In February of the same year, Vikram Solar expanded its presence in Sub-Saharan Africa through a partnership with Powertech Africa, entering 14 new markets, including Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania in February. This added to its existing offices in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. [19] The company also won the National Excellence Award [20] and signed an MoU with teamtechnik. [21] in the following months. In the month of October, Vikram Solar formed a strategic cooperation to enter the Finnish market [10] and later that year, in November, signed a MoU with the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. [11]
In 2017, the company reached a manufacturing capacity of 1 GW [22] , and by July of the same year, its modules became one of the top performers according to DNV GL testing standards [23] . It launched its new monocrystalline product line, SOMERA shortly after [24] .
Vikram Solar’s growth continued into 2018, with Mr. Gyanesh Chaudhary being appointed Chairman of the Renewable Energy & Energy Storage Division of IEEMA in January [25] . The company expanded internationally, opening a sales office in Massachusetts, USA in February [26] and partnering with France’s CEA in March to drive innovative technology research [27] . The firm established an office in Gurgaon [28] and launched the Tigo-integrated Smart module called SOLIVO at Intersolar Munich in the following months [29] . The half-cut cell module was unveiled as well by the firm at REI 2018 and they also commissioned a 200 MW plant in Andhra Pradesh for a solar power generation company. [12] [30]
In 2019, Vikram Solar secured a contract to install a 140 MW solar project for NTPC and commissioned East India’s largest single shed rooftop project of 2.15 MW. [12] [31]
2020-Present
In 2020, the company secured a 300 MW project from National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) [32] . It also ranked 32nd on Fortune India's Next 500 list in March [33] . By December, Vikram Solar had commissioned a 919.73 kWp rooftop plant in Falta, West Bengal, to power part of its solar manufacturing operations [34] .
The company launched the M6 cell series modules in 2021 becoming the first Tier 1 solar company in India to do so [35] . It also commissioned a 225 MW plant for NTPC in Uttar Pradesh, the largest in the state [36] , and continued its streak as a 'Top Performer' in the PVEL PQP Reliability Scorecard for the fourth time in five years [37] . By June, the company surpassed 3 GW in terms of modules shipped globally [38] and Vikram Solar became India’s largest module manufacturer with up to 2.5 GW capacity and inaugurated a 1.3 GW module manufacturing facility in Chennai [39] .
In 2022, Vikram Solar reached a milestone of 2.5 GW in module production capacity [12] . The company also secured a 350 MW module supply contract in the US [12] and achieved certifications for its M10 and G12 cell modules from TUV Rheinland and UL 61730:2022 for its factories in Panaiyur Village, Kanchipuram, and Falta SEZ [12] .
In 2023, the company increased its module production capacity to 3.5 GW [12] and received accreditation from NABL in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017, becoming the second solar company in India and the first in Eastern India to achieve this [12] .
Vikram Solar became India’s only Tier 1 module manufacturer and was featured in BNEF’s list in 2024 [12] . It also secured the 'Top Performer' position from KIWA PVEL for the seventh time in eight years [12] . Additionally, it launched n-type monocrystalline cells with Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) and heterojunction (HJT) PV modules. It is also moving towards a vertically integrated setup with plans to establish a 3 GW solar cell manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu and a 3 GW solar manufacturing facility in the US. [12]
