Shakti Pumps targets commercial panel output within six weeks

Shakti Pumps (India) Limited has started trial production at its 500 MW solar-panel facility and expects commercial production within one to one-and-a-half months. Management said the plant will progressively replace externally sourced panels, supporting rooftop sales and exports, while its separate 2.2 GW solar-cell facility remains scheduled for completion in FY28.

When will Shakti Pumps start commercial panel production?

Shakti Pumps expects commercial production from its 500 MW solar-panel facility within one to one-and-a-half months of the Q2 and H1 FY27 earnings call. The company said it had recently begun trial production and had revealed its first panel, but approvals, licences, testing and operational stabilisation were still under way.

Management said output from the facility will be integrated into operations gradually rather than replacing bought-in panels immediately. Shakti Pumps has not disclosed production volumes, utilisation or cost savings from the 500 MW line, making the commercial-start timeline a management expectation rather than reported output.

How will Shakti Pumps use the 500 MW panel plant?

Shakti Pumps intends to use in-house panels to complete its rooftop offering and to sell panels to existing export customers. Management said some rooftop customers had held back because the company did not offer Shakti-branded panels; the new line is intended to address that gap alongside its inverters, pumps, variable-frequency drives, structures and controllers.

The rooftop business had not yet made a significant contribution because panels were necessary for distribution counters to offer rooftop systems, management said. Even so, rooftop revenue grew 58% year on year in Q2 FY27, while the broader rooftop, solar domestic and industrial businesses rose about 70%, according to management. Those figures show activity before the panel facility reaches commercial output.

Management identified export sales as a second channel for the panels. Q2 FY27 exports were about Rs 95 crore, while H1 FY27 export sales were about Rs 177 crore, including Uganda project sales. Shakti Pumps said existing export customers may begin sourcing panels from it, and it is targeting African markets for complete solar kits that include structures.

Will in-house panels improve Shakti Pumps margins?

Shakti Pumps set up the 500 MW plant with the objective of expanding margins, but management said the benefit would not be immediate or quantifiable yet. It expects results from the facility to start becoming visible in the coming quarter, after approvals, licences, tests and operational stabilisation progress.

The timing matters because raw-material costs increased about 3% quarter on quarter during Q2 FY27, including management’s cited increases in mild steel, steel and copper. Shakti Pumps said advertising optimisation, Kaizen and tighter cost management reduced costs by 2%, limiting the net effect on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, to about 1%.

Management declined to give EBITDA guidance for the next quarter, citing uncertainty over PM-KUSUM 2.0 tender price lists, tender rates and market conditions. It said selling-price flexibility remains limited in the solar business, which accounts for most sales, and that margin outcomes will also depend on raw-material stabilisation and sales-price alignment.

How does the panel project fit Shakti Pumps' wider capacity plan?

Shakti Pumps' 500 MW panel line is the nearer-term project, whereas its 2.2 GW solar-cell facility is scheduled for FY28 completion, with management expecting stronger revenue contributions after March 2028. The company therefore separates panel commercialisation expected within six weeks from the larger cell project, which has a longer construction and revenue timetable.

The total capital-expenditure plan is Rs 1,700 crore, of which about Rs 200 crore had been spent on the 2.2 GW solar-cell plant at the time of the call. Management said capital spending in the remaining H2 FY27 would be about Rs 400 crore. It also said the variable-frequency-drive and structure facilities had been completed, while the pump and motor facility was under development.

The manufacturing programme sits alongside existing pump operations that used about 68% of capacity in H1 FY27. Shakti Pumps installed 23,865 solar pumps in Q2 FY27, about 7% more than in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Solar engineering, procurement and construction revenue was about Rs 543 crore in Q2 FY27 and about Rs 1,230 crore in H1 FY27, making it the company’s largest disclosed revenue stream.

What could affect the rollout and demand for Shakti Pumps panels?

Shakti Pumps' panel rollout depends first on the plant clearing its approvals, licensing, testing and stabilisation steps, which management said were not yet complete in Q2 FY27. Management also linked the near-term rooftop opportunity to the availability of its own panels, saying meaningful results from the 500 MW line should begin to appear in the coming quarter.

Demand conditions also remain tied to public procurement and export markets. Management had expected PM-KUSUM 2.0 clearance in the ongoing quarter, but later said the centrally run scheme was undergoing revisions and that it could not predict its launch date. Separately, it said a Maharashtra government tender for 100,000 pumps had been issued for a subsequent quarter, while the company had orders under the Magel Tyala scheme.

Export progress is subject to geopolitical conditions as well. Management said it was maintaining stability and seeking new markets to offset effects on the Middle East, and that growth over the next six months depends on geopolitical normalisation. It said discussions on large complete-system projects could produce updates within six months and that Uganda’s government and ministry had written to India Exim Bank regarding funding for a second phase.

Conclusion

The 500 MW panel facility gives Shakti Pumps a disclosed route to move from externally procured modules toward an in-house rooftop and export offering. Trial production has begun, but commercial production remains conditional on final operating steps; meanwhile, rooftop revenue rose 58% year on year in Q2 FY27 and export sales reached about Rs 177 crore in H1 FY27.

The next markers are management’s expected commercial start within one to one-and-a-half months, the visibility of plant benefits in the coming quarter and progress on PM-KUSUM 2.0. The longer timetable is the 2.2 GW solar-cell facility, which is scheduled for FY28 completion, with management expecting stronger revenue contributions after March 2028.