India has no shortage of sunny days, but we don't hear as much about the solar energy development there as we do from a few of its neighbors.

Now you can add KSK Surya Photovolatic Venture to the mix of Indian companies looking to build a domestic solar market. The company has signed a deal to buy factory equipment from Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied Materials for making amorphous silicon solar panels, KSK said Thursday.

KSK is investing $500 million to buy land and build the factory in Hyderabad. The factory would have the capacity to produce 150 megawatts of solar panels per year, the company said.

The Indian firm isn't Applied's first customer India. Moser Baer also has purchased tools from Applied, and announced the start of commercial production from a 40-megawatt line earlier this year.

The newcomer will be using the equipment to make tandem junction panels that feature a layer of amorphous silicon and a layer of microcrystalline silicon.

KSK said it settled on amorphous-silicon/microcrystalline instead of technologies that use other semiconductors because the materials perform well in hot climates. They also work well in capturing diffuse light, the company said.