We Can Enter The C&I Inverter Segment Too If We Find The Market Suitable: Dipen Patel, Green Brilliance

Green Brilliance, a solar module manufacturer based out of Gujarat, has been into the manufacturing sector for the past 50 years. It also manufactures various types of current transformers, PTs, CRTs, and CSS which cater to the solar industry as well as the general electrical industry. Dipen Patel, Director, Green Brilliance talks to Saur Energy International about its current offerings and future plans. 

Tell us about your capacities.

Green Brilliance boasts around 700 megawatts of manufacturing capacity with modules from both G12 and M10 series. This is a 700-watt TOPCon module for G12 and around 600 watts for M10 modules. Now, we have started manufacturing inverters as well. We offer complex substations solutions for IPBs also.

TOPCon has begun to gain popularity in the solar sector. How do you evaluate it in terms of costs and energy efficiency?

TOPCon is the next big thing that will come to India in coming months, not even years, because TOPCon has better efficiency than PERC. The theoretical efficiency that can be achieved in TOPCon module is around 28.7% which is far better than HJT, but only time can tell, whether HJT or TOPCon will be the dominant leader. But right now, since TOPCon cells can be easily manufactured from the existing PERC lines. This is quite economical going forward for many manufacturers, even in China, over going for HJT. At the same time, TOPCon gives better bifaciality, it offers better temperature coefficient as well.

Maybe if HJT scales up to the level of TOPCon, HJT will still be cheaper. Efficiency-wise, HJT can reach 27.5 or 28% while TOPCon will give you around 29%. So, if the economy allows, then HJT has the room to be the winner. But I think TOPCon will definitely be the final clear-cut winner because the theoretical efficiency increases in the real market, and then the decline in cost of production follows.

You have recently entered the inverter segment. Why did you choose the residential segment?

Currently, we offer residential inverters only from 1-kilowatt to 10-kilowatt inverters. Right now, we are testing out the market, our technical and technological prowess. If we find the market suitable, we can venture the C&I inverter segment. Hybrid inverters with battery storage option may be the way to go too in future.

How do you view the 600-watt solar panels? Are they here to stay?

600-watt panels are here to stay because all the EPCs and all the IPBs have given their thumbs up. We have also readily accepted the 600-watt modules. So yes, they will stay.

What are some of your projects in the pipeline?

Looking at the future, we have land allocated in our group of companies of around 2 GW for module manufacturing solely. We are eyeing around 700-megawatt expansion but after we achieve commercial production of the modules and within another one and a half years, we will go for another either 1 or 1.5 gigawatt expansion.