Indian state-owned Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited (HEC), one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates, is seeking providers of PV technology and solar manufacturers to create a joint venture for the construction of a solar module factory at an unspecified location in India.

The company has issued an expression of interest for the project, in which it says the vertically integrated factory, which will also produce wafers and solar cells, will have an initial capacity of 50 MW and that it will be raised to 150 MW in two years.

The facility will produce both mono-crystalline and multi-crystalline modules for the Indian market as well as for export, the company said. Furthermore, modules produced at the facility will have a power range of 5 W to 350 W and will be used for both on-grid and off-grid projects.

The facility would be owned by a special purpose vehicle with equity participation by both HEC and the other party. HEC specified its equity will be land and infrastructure. Interested module providers must submit their expression of interests by August 8.

The company had published an expression of interest for the construction of several MW-sized rooftop PV plants at its premises in Ranchi, the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand, where it is headquartered, in May.

HEC provides capital equipment in India for steel, mining, railways, power, defense, space research, nuclear and strategic sectors.