Energetica India Magazine

fer plants require automated crystal pullers, diamond wire saws and wafer inspection systems where AI-based quality grading is now standard. The connective tissue across all of this is digital: a manu- facturing execution system that enforces recipes and tracks every unit, SCADA and machine-level data acquisition, AI- based inspection platforms feeding a central quality data- base, and predictive maintenance analytics on critical equip- ment. As for the benefits, well-executed automated plants routinely operate at line yields of 97–99 percent, throughput gains of 30–40 percent over comparable semi-automated set- ups, dramatically tighter power binning, and uptime levels that manual coordination simply cannot sustain. Equal- ly important is what does not happen: breakage rates fall sharply, rework nearly disappears, and quality performance stops depending on which shift is on duty. Q Cost remains a major consideration for manufacturers. How should companies evaluate the return on invest- ment of a fully automated plant? Samir Mehta: The most common mistake in this evaluation is comparing plants on upfront capex per GW. The correct metric is lifecycle cost per watt of good, sellable output – and on that metric, automation almost always wins. A fully automated line typically carries a capex premium of 15–25 percent over a semi-automated equivalent, but that premi- ummust be weighed against a stream of recurring gains that compound over the plant’s life. The arithmetic is straightforward. First, yield: improving line yield by even two percentage points on a GW-scale line translates into tens of MWs of additional sellable product every year from the same material input – with cells and glass constituting the bulk of module cost, wastage re- duction flows almost directly to the bottom line. Second, throughput and asset utilisation: higher OEE and 24/7 oper- ation mean the same capex produces more output, reducing depreciation per watt. Third, labour productivity and qual- ity cost: automation reduces direct labour per watt while si- multaneously cutting the far higher hidden costs of rework, scrap, customer claims and warranty reserves. Fourth, rev- enue quality: tighter binning and consistent product com- mand better prices and better customers, and bankability certifications are easier to obtain and retain. Individual sub - systems can pay back remarkably fast – AI-based inspection systems, for instance, frequently recover their cost within six to twelve months through defect containment alone – while at the whole-plant level, the automation premium typically pays back within two to four years depending on utilisation and product mix. My advice to companies running this evaluation is to model three scenarios honestly: the automated plant, the conven- tional plant as it looks in the business plan, and the conven- tional plant as it will actually run – with realistic breakage, escape rates, rework and shift variability. It is the third sce- nario that reveals the true cost of under-investing in auto- mation. One should also price in the risk dimension: a single major field-quality event can erase years of capex savings, and that risk is structurally lower in an automated, fully traceable plant. Q How do you see smart, AI-enabled manufacturing shap- ing the future of solar production in India over the next five years? Samir Mehta: Over the next five years, I expect AI-enabled manufacturing to reshape Indian solar production in visible ways. Quality control will shift decisively from inspection to prediction, with AI models flagging process drift before de - fects occur. Factories will run with far higher levels of auton- omous material handling, and digital twins will be used to commission and ramp new lines in a fraction of today’s time. Integrated wafer-to-module campuses will use unified data platforms to optimise across process boundaries rather than within them. And as ALMM extends deeper upstream and export markets tighten traceability requirements, the digi- tal thread running through a smart factory will become as much a compliance asset as an operational one. The manu- facturers who invest in these capabilities now will not mere- ly keep pace with global competition; they will define what world-class solar manufacturing looks like from India. 24 energetica INDIA- Jul-Aug_2026 INTERVIEW