Uniquely placed in the US, Texas facility crown jewel: Waaree Energies CEO

Waaree Energies has a solar module manufacturing plant in Brookshire, Texas

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Renewable energy engineering firm Waaree Energies Ltd's management said in an interaction with Moneycontrol recently that despite the stated anti-renewable energy and anti-climate action stance of the new administration in the United States under President Donald Trump, the company is confident of its prospects in the US and North American markets.

The company's chief executive officer Amit Paithankar said that the emphasis on American manufacturing by the new administration, as well as its large US order book, stand the company in good stead.

Waaree Energies has a solar module manufacturing plant in the US state of Texas, with a capacity of 1.6 gigawatts (GW), which can be increased up to 3 GW.

"Demand is extremely strong in the US market. In fact, every time we look at our US pipeline, it keeps increasing, and has increased in January as well. We have held discussions with most of our customers in the last few days, and they are very bullish about demand...President Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that companies should manufacture in America. We are uniquely placed in that perspective. Our Texas facility will be a crown jewel for us. Depending on whichever way the policy framework in the US shapes up, we will be in a good position. We can send modules from India to the US, or we can manufacture modules in the US. We can turn the knob based on how the policy landscape evolves," said Paithankar.

Investor concerns

Investors have expressed concerns about the prospects of Waaree Energies and other solar module makers in the US as the Trump administration rolls back energy transition efforts. This is in contrast with former president Joe Biden's administration, which allocated billions of dollars for energy transition through legislation, such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Despite listing on the stock exchanges at a strong premium of nearly 70 percent in October 2024, Waaree Energies saw a sustained drop. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the share has been trading lower by around 18 percent since the beginning of January. As of February 4 at 3:19 pm, it was trading at Rs 2,351 apiece.

Q3FY25 performance

For the October-December 2024 quarter, Waaree Energies reported a consolidated revenue of Rs 3,545 crore, double from the same quarter last year, while its consolidated bottom line grew by more than three times year on year (YoY) to Rs 506.80 crore.

Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter grew significantly over the year-ago period to Rs 809.70 crore, while the EBITDA margin grew by around 10 percentage points to 22.84 percent over the same period .

Paithankar added that the company has an order book for around 26 GW, worth around Rs 50,000 crore, 54 percent of which is from the overseas markets. The order book also covers the company's listed subsidiary Waaree Renewable Technologies Ltd.

However, he noted that the large volume of overseas orders does not necessarily translate to more overseas revenues, with 79 percent of the company's April-December 2024 revenue of Rs 10,705 crore coming from Indian operations.

Differing nature of orders

"The reason for the two profiles not being similar is the nature of orders. Typically, in India, we have retail and large utility customers. The retail orders are of a book-and-ship nature, with hardly a lag of a month. For the utility orders, the lag is between 9-12 months. For overseas orders, particularly from the US, the lag is beyond 12 months, and sometimes up to 24 months. Therefore, we have all of these levers in our hands in any given quarter to ensure that we have the right mix, helping us manage profitability," Paithankar explained, adding that the company's large order book provides it with leverage for more flexibility.

The company has stated an intention to invest up to $1 billion in the US facility over a longer term, with Waaree Energies now in the process of ramping up facilities . It has started commercial production at the plant, located at Brookshire in Texas, with an investment of around $80 million till date.

Seeking other global opportunities

While the company's overseas operations are US-focused, Paithankar said that Waaree Energies is "actively seeking" opportunities elsewhere as well, especially in the Middle East, Africa, and Australia. He added that the company has set up legal entities in some of these countries, and has also opened an office in Dubai.

Paithankar said that the company is also progressing on its plan to backward-integrate and add value to its business, especially in energy storage. The company's board has approved capital expenditure of around Rs 2,073 crore for a 3.5 GWh (gigawatt-hour) advanced cell chemistry manufacturing plant, Rs 551 crore for a 300 megawatt (MW) electrolyser manufacturing facility, and a smaller Rs 130 crore outlay on its inverter business.

By FY27, Waaree Energies is expected to have a solar module manufacturing facility of 21 GW, including its US capacity, while its cell manufacturing capacity is expected to be 11.4 GW, according to the company's recent investor presentation. Trial production has started at the cell manufacturing facility, located at Chikhli in Gujarat, with commercial production expected to begin "very soon".

Govt schemes promising 

Additionally, the company plans to have a capacity of 6 GW in solar ingots and wafers, for which it has been awarded production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes from the government.

In India, Paithankar said that growth has been visible in all segments, be it from integrated power producers (IPPs), power distribution entities, or the commercial and industrial segments. He said government-led schemes, such as the PM Surya Ghar Yojana and the PM-KUSUM are "strong demand drivers".

Other than the focus on solar energy and batteries, Paithankar said the company is exploring prospects in green hydrogen as well as renewable energy infrastructure, including acquisitions in the latter space. The company is in the process of closing its acquisition of Enel Green Power India, for a consideration of around Rs 792 crore. Enel Green Power develops and operates wind and solar power projects in India, and has projects for around 2.5 GW in its pipeline.