How has been Impulse Green Energy’s journey so far and what is its current scale of operations?

Impulse started operations around three years ago as a distributor of solar power equipment. We are the distributors for high quality and high performance solar brands including Huawei, LONGi Solar, REC, Hoymiles, Leoni and QC Solar.

In terms of growth in operations, we had a turnover of only about Rs 7 million in 2016-17 but last year, in 2018-19, our turnover was Rs 360 million. This year, in 2019-20, we are expecting to cross Rs 750 million in turnover. This also reflects the growth of the solar power industry in the country as well as the opportunities for good quality equipment manufacturers. The brands we are working with launched their products in the Indian market around the same time when we entered the market. The growth in our bottom line reflects how the strength of their product has increased over these years. The good quality can be gauged from the fact that we have had several repeat customers for these products.

When we talk about the share of inverters and modules, so far the majority of our revenue was from inverters. Here it must be noted that the cost of modules per MW is eight to ten times the inverter cost but we added modules to our portfolio only last year when we started distributing REC modules. LONGi Solar signed us up in 2019 so this year onwards we are expecting the share of modules in our total revenues to be 50 per cent.

What is the split between rooftop and utility-scale solar space?

Majority of our clients are sourcing the products for rooftop projects. So over 70 per cent of our revenue is derived from rooftop segment and remaining from utility-scale projects. Within rooftop, majority of the business is coming from the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment followed by SECI-sponsored government and institutional users. Residential rooftop has only started picking up recently and is expected to gain traction in the coming years.

Why would project developers source equipment from a distributor and not directly from the manufacturer?

Project developers opt for distributor mostly in the rooftop segment. In the utility-scale market, there is negligible scope for distributor due to the scale of projects. A distributor comes into picture when there is a small expansion or addition in the plant which is to be done in a short span of time.

Moreover, rooftop projects are widely spread across. The cost of supplying to such staggered and distributed projects for companies like LONGi and Huawei is similar to the cost of supplying to any large utility-scale projects. For multinational companies like Huawei and LONGi Solar as well, shipping products to a single company will be much more convenient than shipping to multiple small-scale players. A small rooftop project owner or developer would not want to bear such high costs. Moreover, a single glitch in the process can risk delaying the shipment leading to serious cost implications. In order to avoid the same, it is better to have a channel partner which will support the customer by ensuring that the shipment reaches in time. We maintain adequate stock in order to meet the immediate door delivery requests as well besides being the local and reliable point of contact to address any issues.

How does the after sales service function in this case?

Impulse has its own team of after sales service. The team is trained by our vendors. But this is mostly relevant for inverters as the after sale service for modules is negligible. The only challenge with solar modules is that they need to be handled carefully while being transported and we take full guarantee for the same.

Besides, we are planning to train our local service team to be well versed with various types of defects in modules and also provide them training to have onsite analysis capabilities. This is important to provide the customer quick support and opinion since the sites are staggered and at the company representative may sometime take longer duration to reach the site. However, in case of module defect, nothing can be finalised until the site is analysed by the manufacturer’s team.

What all new module technologies has LONGi Solar brought in the Indian market?

We started with supplying LONGi Solar’s Monocrystalline PERC modules. The company has recently diversified into Monocrystalline PERC half-cut technology which offers significantly better performance and efficiency. The company is now planning to offer higher capacity modules. Currently, they are offering 375 Wp modules which they plan to increase the module capacity to 420 Wp while keeping the dimension/size similar. This will be beneficial for C&I users which have limited rooftop space. A higher capacity module will make a significant difference when seen from a 25-year project lifecycle point of view.

Besides, LONGi Solar is also working on the bifacial technology which is suited for both utility and rooftop solar projects. The technology trials have already begun but we are yet to supply these modules. A number of our customers have shown interest for bifacial technology as the difference in power generation using bifacial modules ranges from 7 per cent to 39 per cent, depending on the surface. For instance, if the modules are installed on a snow covered surface, the reflection levels are significantly high and so is the efficiency. In case of a rooftop, the surface of the roof can be painted white to derive the maximum efficiency from bifacial modules.

The shift from polycrystalline to monocrystalline is already taking place and going forward, we are likely to witness the shift towards bifacial. The transition is inevitable given that the cost differential is not very significant. It will be an increase of only 7 to 8 per cent in cost terms but efficiency gains will be much higher.

How do these products compare with the competing products in the market which may come at a much lower price?

We are only dealing in premium products as our intent is to supply equipment for a project which can be sustainable for a period of 20-25 years. As far as pricing is concerned, products offered by companies like Huawei, LONGi Solar and REC may come at a 4-5 per cent higher price but the value proposition they offer are much more significant.

We try to convince the customer basis the long-term value, good quality and higher efficiency of the product for which they are willing to pay the premium.

Before associating with brands we have analysed the trust factor, the financial strength and the longevity of the brand and all our brands though they demand premium over prevailing market terms are the leaders in technology & innovation, along with being very reputable and recognised brands not only in India but international market too

Which industry verticals are witnessing a greater movement towards solar power?

All industries where power consumption is high are moving towards to solar power. Manufacturing industry including automotive, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, textiles and data centres, is emerging as one of the highest installers of solar power projects.

Large educational institutes are moving towards solar due the benefits offered under the net metering policy in most states. Breweries, distilleries, stone quarries and cement units are going for solar largely due to their RPO obligations. But the trend of moving towards solar is more in the mid-scale owner driven manufacturing units.

What is the company’s geographical reach? Which states are experiencing higher demand for your products?

We are a pan-India player. Headquartered in Mumbai, we have offices in Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi. Our warehouses are in Navi Mumbai, Chennai and Ajmer. This is sufficient to cater to the central, western, northern and southern regions. We are now beginning to see demand from the eastern region as well. So we are planning to hire more people in the eastern regions.

In order to optimise costs, we are also taking the channel partner route. For instance, we have a channel partner in Rajasthan wherein we provide them a complete container of modules and inverters for supply within the state.

We are witnessing high demand in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. We are also beginning to witness activity in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh besides the eastern region.

What are the best practices for efficient and safe logistics of modules and inverters?

Inverters are much easier to transport compared to modules which are extremely fragile. We take guarantee for proper shipment of modules till the customer’s premises. If broken or damaged during the transfer, we either replace the module or provide refund. Proper packing of modules is crucial to ensure that they do not get damaged, especially if they are transported to remote locations for which the approach roads are generally of poor quality.

Therefore, special attention is paid towards packing and we have specifically trained our warehouse team to pack modules in such manner so that they can last the journey on Indian roads. This type of packing is important not only to avoid breakages but to avoid micro cracks too. We are also open to ideas from our partners who suggest new ways. Further, our team keeps an eye on the most effective and cost efficient processes of packing so that we can make the process fool proof.

What are the new technologies or products that customers of solar power projects can expect in 2019-20?

Mono PERC is the latest and most trending technology currently. The emphasis in the coming year would be on increasing efficiencies and watt-class in this technology by using half cut platform.

Bifacial modules are going to be the next big thing in the solar panel space in India. LONGi Solar has already released its bifacial PERC monocrystalline module and we are soon going to start supplying these as customers are showing interest in higher efficiency products.

In the inverter space, micro inverters, which are already available in the market, are going to be our next offering. While Huawei currently offers string solutions with optimisers for the rooftop customers in India, it is already selling micro inverters in the European markets where they are a big hit. But very soon, we are going to start supplying these in India as soon as the residential rooftop, which will have much smaller-scale projects, starts gaining traction.

Raychem RPG has a huge varied portfolio of offerings for solar sector. Can you give us more insights on it?

Raychem RPG is the pioneer in Energy Storage Systems which is the key for ensuring dispatchable solar energy. The company has a wide range of products for Solar and Energy Storage Systems. The FIRST MW Scale Project integrated with solar power and back-up diesel generator for supplying firm power to power electronics manufacturing line was deployed and commissioned by Raychem RPG in March 2018.

Raychem RPG has set-up a new manufacturing facility in India for bi-directional inverters for energy storage integration. This facility produces power conversion systems for global supplies.

To add to this, I would also like to mention that Raychem RPG is also the leader in supply of multi-winding solar transformers with over 6 GW of supplies for solar projects in India. We innovated multi-winding transformers and kept pace with the evolution of solar inverters and emerging requirements for solar developers.

Moreover, Raychem RPG’s flagship products for connection and insulation systems ensure safety, security and longevity of solar fields. All these products are designed and manufactured with 25 years of life time, as required for solar projects. We supply Cable jointing and termination kits, transformer connection systems, safety products and equipment, surge & lightening arrestors, string combiner box, to name some.

As Solar storage is the current buzzword in the solar industry and Raychem RPG being the pioneer in this segment, what would be the demand outlook for the storage products in 2019?

Year 2019 is turning out to be the transformational year for energy storage and solar segments. There are three key levers that are working together to create and integrate energy storage with solar markets in India

a. Government Policies – Government has come out with FAME-2 for electric mobility, as well as, the Energy Storage Mission and CERC amendment for demand side management for utilities. It is also working with utilities for adoption of future business model along with focus on overall improvement of utility’s financials. Many pilot and demonstration projects are planned to set the base for long term business model for industry players and developers

b. Market Dynamics – Growing adoption of energy storage globally has demonstrated that it is not limited to just one application. The dispatchable power along with multitude of use cases can create business models for developers and utilities to push for hybrid solar + storage or RE + storage projects

c. Technology Maturity – There have been several projects globally to demonstrate the actual working of energy storage system with the grid and load sub-systems that gives relevant data points for developers to contain their risk and build credible business models.

Another important factor is that the Battery production is attaining economies of scale leading into supply chain stabilization and passing on the benefits to the customers.

Raychem RPG has done Strategic Technology Partnership with various companies. Can you tell us more about this?

Raychem RPG has done technology collaboration with Dynapower, a global leader in energy storage products and technologies with over 500+ MW of storage projects deployed globally. Raychem RPG collaboration with Dynapower addresses three major areas:

a. Manufacturing of power conversion systems in India – These products are customized and stabilized for Indian environment while ensuring global standards. This ensures that the customers doing projects in India and other countries get the benefits of complete technical, commissioning and warranty support from Raychem RPG’s established service network. As the products are 100% localized, there are no global supply chain dependencies and can provides faster customer service

b. Global product supplies – Products manufactured at Raychem RPG’s facility in Halol, Gujarat are exported   across the world that ensures that the products are of global standard

c. Development of next generation products – The technical team from Raychem RPG and Dynapower collaborate together in developing next generation products for the world.

How do you manage to provide quality after sales service to your prestigious customer base?

Raychem RPG has a fairly well evolved 3R concept for customer service – Reliable, Responsive and Receptive. The company has Pan-India service presence to ensure that customers get First Time Right Service with complete life cycle promise for their investments.

Raychem RPG is also one of the very few companies to have attained excellence level of TPM that ensures that all the products manufactured and/or supplied by us are quality products and delivered to customer sites on time.

How the solar industry will evolve in the next 2 years?

Renewable energy is showing growing adoption globally and the next frontier is dispatchable renewable energy that is driving the growing adoption of energy storage. Renewable percentage of the overall energy consumption will keep showing the upward trend. We also see that the consumers will start driving further adoption of Green energy.

Utilities across the world are remodelling their business models to become more service oriented and giving options to consumers to drive new energy consumption patterns. Energy as a domain and infrastructure is expected to evolve at break-neck speed in the next two years and keep all major players in the domain on their toes.

Could you give our readers a brief introduction of your company?

Insolation Energy is being Promoted by Vikas Jain & Manish Gupta both are Engineers from Education Background and company was incorporated in 2016.

We begun our commercial production from year 2017 April with an Fully automatic line of capacity 80 MW. It is one of the most advanced plant installed in North India having manufacturing base in Jaipur on NH8.

What are the services provided by your company? What makes you stand apart from other players in the market?

We are purely into Panels Manufacturing keeping our complete focus on manufacturing only. WE believe still there is lot of R&D going on in this field and we have to continuously enhance our quality and adopt latest technologies so we are not focusing on EPC or tenders business.

What according to you has been the biggest milestone on your path?

The decision to invest in good equipment and selection of right team has been biggest milestone without which we would not be able to reach at this positon. At the start of plant we got an order for 2.3 MW plant in Ujjain were we could prove our quality and this was the biggest milestone in our growth.

As a module manufacturer, what trend do you expect in the race in Module Technology?

New trends are Twin Peak / Bifacial and Mono PERC. We have already started making MONO PERC modules and are In process of quality updation for Bifacial and Twin Peak Modules.

Module Quality, Costs, and Performance are key concern areas for Indian project developers. How would you like to address these issues for your offerings in India?

There is too much pressure in India on the cost of solar Modules we strive hard to keep our prices competitive without any compromise in quality. Since last two years we have been able to supply good quality panels in market and customers are gaining confidence in our quality and we have receving repeat orders from the satisfied customers now. In the past it has been observed that some Chinese companies failed to provide warranty claims and replacement to indian EPC companies .Since we are a local company we can address their concerns better.

What are your plans for the current and next financial year?

India has been our biggest market as of now but we trying very hard to reach markets of Middle East Africa and Latin America. We hope to get some good orders from these countries in near future.

Currently our capacity is 80 MW per Annum we are going to make the size double in this fiscal alongwith modules we are also planning for a cell line and a Lithium batter line. This year we plan to do a business of 100 cr. We have target of atleast 25% growth YoY.

You are a global leader in the solar industry. Could you please tell us about your current business presence in India?

 Adani Solar is the Solar PV manufacturing arm of Adani Group, one of India’s largest businesses spanning across Resources. Logistics, Energy, Agri and ancillary industries. Our company is the largest & only vertically integrated cell & module manufacturer in India with 1.2 GW capacity. We continue to increase our presence with large EPC & medium EPC –that continues to be our bread & butter segment. Apart from that we are focused on expanding our retail presence/ footprints. We have channel partners all over India, through which we are now going deeper in to the market and becoming the choice of our consumer who would demand Adani Solar modules from their EPC companies, so in terms of brand visibility Adani Solar is now getting deeper in to the rural market as well as the last mile connectivity with the customers.

Tell us more about the latest innovations in your product and solution offerings for the Indian market.

We continue to make innovations in our products, with greater efficiency and bringing latest products in the global market. Bifacial and half-cut cells, N heterojunction, Multi bus bars etc. and the kind of technologies we will bring to India that is gaining popularity globally. To mention a few, in multi-crystalline modules we continue to produce highest Wattage modules of 335 – 345 Wp, in MonoPERC series of modules of 365 – 380 Wattages and we also have Bifacial modules, though in India Bifacial modules are not popular, but we feel that in future Bifacial will become more popular.

 What exciting opportunities do you see in the Indian and global markets?

 I think solar has now taken the pace which we envisioned several years way back, that brought us into solar manufacturing. Now the cost of developing solar energy is so low that more people are adapting to solar energy that gives us a whole new canvas in India, like we see opportunities on the Rooftop. In terms of penetration, the rooftop segment is less explored compared to Utility and ground mount projects. In future, more roofs will be solar powered. Rooftop solar will become more popular and that’s going to be a driving force for India. Globally solar is now no longer a developed nation’s commodity, it is now getting popular in Far East countries and more developing countries are now adapting solar. Many projects and opportunities happening now in Middle East countries, Africa, South America which never had solar earlier, are now realizing that solar is very competitive and it produces clean energy. Globally now solar has arrived, and that is what we see opportunities everywhere.

Would you be focusing on international/ export market. If so, how different is Indian PV module market from the International market?

Now Indian PV Market is evolving at a faster pace. Earlier it was a price sensitive market, as the customer would not realize that the product which they bought may perform or not, because a mediocre product will stop generating power after few or prolonged usage. Quality, Brand & the supplier credentials are now becoming more important. People are now paying that extra to get that better quality from reliable suppliers. So a lot of this has changed that was never there in Indian market. In International market, the customers were well aware of the importance of quality and the manufacturers background, which is now being considered important in India as well.

With a growing competition from Indian as well as global companies, is there sufficient demand in India to match the supply? At times, Indian demand actually outmatches the supply, so I think there is a huge demand in India, it will continue to grow. Now with customers getting more aware, they are realizing the importance and prefer to buy products from Indian manufacturers who will stand with the product if there is any issue. At least they will be sure who the supplier is? What will be the warranty and how will be the after sales support? Global competition is good; because that drives and motivates us to be on our toes, by bringing the best products at the best competitive price. But there is no dearth of demand in India with the government policies in favor of solar, this will go up indeed.

Please could you shed some light on your plans for India over the next 12 months?

We are targeting to elevate Wattage peaks in our modules. For Multi-crystalline modules at 345-355 Wp. With the Mono PERC we are targeting to hit 380-390 Wp in the next 6 months and with the half cut technology we are targeting to deliver 390-400 Wp in the next 6 months’ time period. We are working on new technologies which will get us to more than 400 Wp in the next 12 months’ time period.

We see trend is now moving towards Mono PERC and there are good prospects for products such as Multi bus bar, heterojunction and half cut cell modules in the near future. It should be noted that we are the only manufacturer in India to produce high efficiency monofacial and bifacial modules. We are confident of boosting these efficiencies. Our objective is to achieve a capacity of above 400 Wp modules in the next 6 to 8 months.

What technical advantages Adani Solar providers to their consumer?

Since inception of Adani Solar, we have been the early adopters in the production and manufacturing technology. Adani Solar is India’s first vertically integrated business that offers products along with services across the spectrum of photovoltaic manufacturing and yes going forward, we will convert greater capacity from Multi to Mono depending on LCOE trends.

PV Industry is seeing some interesting changes on the PERC, PERT, HJT, TopCon manufacturing where multiple manufacturers are trying new technologies. There are certain technologies that offer very high wattages but that do not support the LCOE benefits at current market conditions due to high input cost. Economy of scale should be driving costs lower and we at Adani Solar are geared to meet the LCOE roadmap.

Adani has been awarded as the most Reliable PV module manufacturer. How would you like to keep the momentum?

After achieving Top Performer ratings during early June 2019 in terms of performance & reliability among all its industry peers in the PVEL scorecard report for two consecutive years 2018 & 2019, Adani Solar emerged as the only Indian manufacturer considered as a bankable company for projects outside India, ahead of many other Indian solar manufacturers in terms of brand recognition.

We honor and acknowledge such accomplishments and ratings from globally renowned bodies like PVEL and BNEF. In solar Industry, vertically integrated manufacturers like Adani Solar are more often considered bankable than non-vertically integrated ones as they have both control over process and quality. Such accreditations demonstrate that Adani Solar is a committed manufacturer which has implemented state-of-the-art facility with best industry practices ensuring superior performance and reliability of its products.

Quality, Costs and Performance are key concern areas for Indian project developers. How would you like to address these issues for your offerings in India?

I think solar modules are already at their lowest in terms of pricing, we don’t see it moving up and down by more than 4 to 5 % in the next few years, but the cost of ownership of the projects built will continue to go down and not by a big margin, because the module prices won’t go down but high efficiencies modules will become more popular, that’ll drive the balance of system costs lower, so we still see that the project cost overall will go down, which will make projects viable. So our offerings will be to give the best quality product at the most competitive price and to stand with the product performance and after sales service that is going to be our USP coming from a well-diversified group.

What differentiates your company’s offerings from your peers?

I think the most important offering for any module manufacturer is the reliability, i.e. product reliability and company’s reliability. With Adani Solar you get both, as we manufacture cells and modules in house, we are also looking to set up wafer and ingot facility, which will be one-of-its-kind in India. We are bringing the best quality product along with the reliability associated with the Group. That is our differentiating factor from other manufacturers who are only dependent on solar business.

Let’s being with a glimpse of your company’s presence in India’s RE sector?

Established in 2005, Ginlong Technologies, the manufacturer of Solis Inverters, is the only publicly traded company with a primary focus on string inverters went public and was listed on the Shenzen Stock (Stock Code: 300763.SZ) Exchange in March 2019, which helps to strengthen customers’ confidence in building long-term partnerships with Ginlong Solis. Since 2017 Ginlong has started the operations in India and we understand Indian customer requirement and considering that we have taken all necessary step to meet the customer requirements , in terms of quick service support, local service stock points, so Ginlong has spread their service network across the country having HQ in Mumbai with telephonic service support call center setup, and local service person stationed in Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, to reach out to customer site with less time span to address customer problems.

What are the different product and services you offer in the Indian & Global market?

􀃂 Product and services that we offer are:

Solis String Inverter range: 0.7kW – 125kW

• SOLIS MINI – 0.7kW – 3.6kW (1 MPPT)
• SOLIS 1P – 2.5kW – 6kW (2 MPPT)
• SOLIS 1P – 7kW – 10kW (3 MPPT)
• SOLIS Three Phase – 5kw – 20kW (2 MPPT)
• SOLIS Three Phase – 20kw – 40kW (4 MPPT)
• SOLIS Three Phase – 40kw – 70kW (4 MPPT)
• Dual DSP/CPU Transformer-less design
• Wide input voltage range, flexible installation of panels in each string
• Dual MPPT on the inverters > 4kW
• 4 MPPT on >20kW
• Small, lightweight, aesthetically pleasing cases allowing for easy install in domestic environments
• Maximum efficiency >99%
• IP65 rated for external installation
• AFCI Function

􀃂 New Products 2019

􀃂 RAI-3K-48ES-5G

􀃂 Solis-1P (7-8) K-5G

􀃂 RHI-1P (5-10) K-HVES-5G

􀃂 Solis-1P (25-50) K-5G

􀃂 Solis-(80-110) K-5G

􀃂 Solis-125K-EHV-5G

􀃂 We offer 5 years standard (extend to 20 years) warranty.

􀃂 Regarding the service,

􀃂 Unmatched experience across 60+ countries

􀃂 High reliability

􀃂 Limited time to ensure fast service

􀃂 Technical support–local service for after-sales

􀃂 We provide services like telephonic support, engineer site visit and inverter replacement door to door service in case of any fault. And strategically located our service engineer at Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai.

What kind of potential do you see for Ginlong Solis in India’s upcoming EV marketing?

We are still evaluating the best solutions possible to propose, Recent push for the EV segment in the Union Budget has expedited adaptability among the people. Planning is to launch good products for this segment very soon.

Ginlong soils have been awarded the title of “Top Inverter Brand” by the world-famous photovoltaic authority research organization EUPD for four consecutive years. How will you keep up the momentum?

Ginlong have gained the trust of the customers with strict product requirements by winning the EUPD award form last four consecutive years this award also provides a clear guidance for investors, owners and installers of distributed PV power stations in choosing inverters at home and abroad., we keep up the momentum as A Legacy Of Excellence.

Please let us know Ginlong Solis company vision for next fiscal year in India?

We target to ship more then 1GW of inverter supplies by end of 2020.

What has been your growth story during FY18 and what is the forecast for FY19?

According to BTI report in FY18 we were ranked number 5 while this FY19 we ranked number 2.

India is a very competitive market. How do you keep ahead of the competition?

Ginlong technologies is always focus on continues development on the product to meet the local demand and requirement, recently we introduce (5G series) in Indian market which has brought get success for Solis in Indian market. The new 5G models bring “efficient, intelligent, reliable” customer value, suitable for commercial roofs, residential roofs and other distributed scenarios.

Could you please tell us about Australian premium solar presence in India?

We are present in India since 2013. We began our operation in India only as solar module manufacturers, having annual production capacity of 20 MW. And now, after 6 years of dedication and hard work, we have grown into one of the fastest growing solar solution provider company which includes the roles of solar module manufacturing and solar inverter supply. We have been supplying our modules and inverters pan India. We aim to become one of the largest solar energy solution providers of India through our insatiable hunger for top quality of products and services.

Kindly give us an insight on Australian premium solar (APS) product portfolio along with the service offering for the Indian market?

We are offering solar energy products with bigger ranges and better warranties. We are offering solar modules ranging from 40 Wp to 350 Wp. We are also conducting a trial run of our own brand of inverters with 500 of our current customers since last 6 months, and till now they all seem to be pretty satisfied with its performance. So, now we are introducing it in this year’s REI. We are offering a range of 1 KW to 80 KW for inverters to fulfil residential, commercial, institutional and commercial requirements. Along with this we are also supplying other top brands of inverters as per the customer requirements as well.

What differentiates your company’s offering from your competitors?

We have seen a trend in the Indian market that most of the large scale system integrators are coming from a manufacturing background. Whereas, we have been working as system installers/integrators since more than a decade in Australia. So, we are well aware of the issues faced by the integrators, and we have kept our R&D focused accordingly and we are manufacturing modules and supplying inverters keeping those things in mind. So, that experience becomes very handy when we are bringing in something new or when we are providing after-sale service. That is where we are different from our competitors. We offer better warranty and better quality at most competitive prices. Most of our customers are affiliated with us for a longer time period, majorly because of the quality of product as well as the after-sale service. We are different because we know all the aspects of the work we are doing, let it be R&D or manufacturing. The other major difference is that we are providing products for wide range, from residential to utility, and we also provide all major components, making us a one stop solution for installers as well as end users.

Could you please shed some light on Australian premium solar’s desirable target for the year 2019-2020?

This is something which has been our strength. We always have a very clear picture about in which direction we are heading. Right now we are standing at 100 MW of annual production, and we are looking forward to making it 250 MW. The company started in 2008 with Just 4500 AUD, and from there, in 11 years, we have grown to become one of the largest solar energy company in Australia, and have grown to achieve a cumulative turnover of more than INR 600 Cr. From our group of companies. We have been following one simple strategy of doubling the turn over each year, and till now it has worked perfectly for us. For India we have a target of achieving turnover of INR 200 Cr by the end of year 2020.

Engie’s presence in India has been around for over two decades, how has the experience been?

Engie is the world’s largest Independent Power Producer (IPP), with more than 100 GW in operation globally. This includes power generation from all sources like natural gas, hydro, wind, solar, nuclear, coal, biomass & biogas, etc. Engie has a worldwide strategy to promote Low Carbon energy and gradually phase out of activities with the highest levels of CO2 emissions such as coal fired power production. Engie has identified India as a potential country that can contribute in accomplishing its ambition to be a world leader in the transition to zero-carbon emission. Engie Group also provides governments, communities, cities and businesses with efficient and innovative solutions based on its expertise in four key sectors: independent power development, renewable energy, liquefied natural gas and energy efficiency services. ENGIE employs 155,000 people worldwide and is present in 70 countries across 5 continents.

ENGIE has been present in India since more than 20 years, carrying out service activities such as engineering and renewable energy generation. Its total generation capacity now stands at 1.5 GW+, which includes 1GW+ of Solar and 482 MW of Wind. Engie group employs around 1,000 people in India, including power generation development that commenced in 2014, as well as in energy and engineering services, which existed since about two decades.

Engie’s 101MWp solar plant in UP was inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and French President Mr. Emmanuel Macron.

Engie’s experience in India has been encouraging despite challenges encountered by the renewable industry in general. The major challenges faced generally have been around land acquisition, inter-coordination between various governmental agencies, evacuation approvals, etc.

Where do you see the Solar Energy industry in India poised for the next 10 years? What are your growth plans for the Indian market?

With the government initiatives enforced across the country, India is poised to grow rapidly in achieving the target of 175GW of renewable energy by 2022. India has a large potential for renewable energy and the government has set up massive goals for solar power generation.

In the next 10 years, India is set to be one of the largest solar power producers with the generation being used across industries, agriculture, homes, etc. Considering this huge potential, Engie has ambitious plans for India and would aim to be one of the key players in the solar and wind industry in India, as long as the policies and initiatives by the Indian government remain supportive.

India is now producing the world’s cheapest solar power, what are your views on the same?

Healthy competition leads to the growth of the industry. India is an extremely competitive market, and this factor has been the key in shaping the economics of the sector. As long as the pricing in the renewable market can produce power efficiently, without compromising on the quality of the plants, it will continue to be adopted by the industry. We also believe that there should be enforcement of minimum specifications in order to ensure that quality is not comprised while trying to be competitive.

The path forward is to be competitive by using new and innovative technologies to build high-efficiency power plants. Hybrid power plants, battery storage, floating solar plants, etc. are some of the high potential markets in the immediate future. LCOE would be a crucial factor for driving hybrid tenders either with Solar PV + Storage or Solar PV + Wind or all three PV + Wind + Storage together, where PLF can be maximized with optimum capex and opex.

What are your views on the Government policies? Do you think they have brought about the intended benefits?

The Government’s targets are quite ambitious. It has set a target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydropower. This has given impetus for the renewable energy sector to grow rapidly.

In order to achieve this target, various policies and initiatives to promote investment in this market have been introduced. One amongst some of the encouraging policies, is that the Union power ministry has made it mandatory for DISCOMs to open and maintain letters of credit (LCs). This will prove to be a reassuring payment-security mechanism under power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed with generation companies. Another motivating initiative of the government is the recent 20-40 per cent financial subsidy for new residential rooftop solar installations. This will significantly accelerate the pace of such roof-top installations. But what we would really like to see is the alignment of various policies between different Departments of the Government like PGCIL, CEA, SECI and State Agencies, which can smoothen the implementation of projects and can invite more investments into the country.

Technology is moving forward all the time, is there anything that you’re looking forward to seeing happen in the next few years?

Technological innovations and developments are the only way forward for a sustainable market. In the solar industry, various breakthroughs have been achieved to increase the Wp rating and efficiency of the PV modules. There have also been developments in the Inverters, leading to higher power and voltage ratings, higher DC overloading, string inverters suitable for large PV plants, etc. Developments in the tracking technology & robotic dry module cleaning systems, have also been promising. Various innovations are ongoing in the areas of Floating solar, Hybrid and Battery storage projects. Apart from lithium ion batteries, there are many other technologies where experiments are being conducted in the laboratories and expected to hit the commercial market soon. Engie has around 1000 researchers in the world with various labs, with a dedicated lab for lithium ion batteries. Hydrogen as a means of storage is also being studied.

To Improve the grid stability, there has been a lot of emphasis on forecasting & scheduling of the renewable power. Many Innovative solutions for the same are now available in the market and further improvements on many aspects are ongoing.

All these advances are promising as they will lead to improvement in project economies.