— Dhiraj Bhagchandka,
Managing Director, Kirti Solar Ltd
Part of the diversified Pekon Group of companies,
Kirti Solar Ltd
is amongst India's largest solar power systems and projects
companies. Supported by a worldwide network of service
centres, Kirti Solar offers all range of off-grid solar systems
including solar home and street lighting, solar power plants for
banks, telecom, railways, etc; and also solar thermal power
systems.
Dhiraj Bhagchandka describes his company's operations
and exudes confidence on the bright future for the solar power
industry in India.
Please discuss the role of small off-grid solar power installations
and your company's offerings in this product range.
Kirti Solar Ltd is one of the largest companies involved in the
design, supply, installation and finance of off-grid solar power
projects in India. We have offices across eight states with more
than 175 sales/service centers across the country. Our company
is a registered channel partner of the Union Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy.
The potential of off-grid solar power is huge in India.
Particularly in the sectors of telecom, defense, railways and
banking industries, the use of solar power has become essential
as it can save huge costs.
Could you explain, in general terms, the importance of solar power
in rural India, given that there will continue to be villages that will
not easily get grid power despite programmes like RGGVY?
In general, solar power is a necessity for a developing country
like India because of the huge dependency on fuel imports and
its associated costs. The government has also decided to
deregulate the cost of diesel, which will further drive the cost
of energy.
In rural areas, which lack reliable transmission network, solar
power is the only reliable and feasible source of energy. In
general, setting up of any transmission network to a new area
has a fixed cost, which can only be justified provided there is a
critical consumer base and strong local distribution for last mile
delivery and payment collection. In most rural areas, which were
conceived under RGGVY, the above cost cannot be justified by the
local revenue. Hence, local power generation using solar, biofuel,
etc is the only viable option.
Does Kirti Solar intend to make equipment (solar photovoltaic
cells) for multi-mw solar power plants, given the big opportunity
arising out of India's National Solar Mission?
We envision our role as the nation's largest design, installation
and finance company for solar power systems, including off-grid
and grid-connected plants. It serves our interest to be amenable
to emerging technologies, without being bound by conventional
methods. With this, we can always provide the most efficient
modules developed through constant R&D in any corner of the
world. We would prefer to remain so in the near future. However, we are very eager to tie up with technology providers in the areas
of modules, inverters, etc.
In the same vein, does Kirti Solar intend to a full-fledged
solar power producer following opportunities available under
the JNNSM?
In fact, our company has acquired land for projects in Rajasthan
and Gujarat and we do intend to become an IPP in the solar
power sector.
Tell us more about your tie-ups with banks and financial
institutions to make solar power more affordable.
Kirti Solar Ltd has the maximum number of tie-ups with leading
nationalized and rural banks across India. Currently, we are
actively working with 35 national and rural banks for financing
solar systems across India. This enables us to offer easy
finance on our systems/projects in any part of India.
What is your view on the penetration of solar power
based appliances in cities and urban cities,
aiming at displacing fossil-based grid power?
In the next five years, rooftop solar and
Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV)
will be very common across Indian
cities. As we are moving closer to the cost of
conventional power, this dream is becoming a reality.
The government of India, through the ministry of new and
renewable energy, must be credited for taking various initiatives
like declaration of solar cities across India.
Tell us about the synergy between solar power and LED
that combine the benefits of solar power and efficient
energy consumption.
In general, LED is the next big product whose use will soon
become inevitable. When we combine this product with the
source of free power like solar, it becomes all the more viable.
Solar powered LED systems in home and street lightings are very
cost-effective systems.
Do you feel that costs of solar photovoltaic panels are coming
down of late? What is your view on India's competency in domestic
production of grid-sized solar power equipment?
The cost will continue to come down in the near future because of
huge surplus capacity across China and Europe and also the bad
economic situation in Europe, which till date was the largest
consumer of PV.
India has recently developed a huge production capacity
which will continue to increase provided the government
continues the protection of domestic manufacturing through its
local content requirement.
Some cities are planning to convert conventional street lighting
into LED-based systems. Do you think that solar-based LED
systems can be the next step forward?
Absolutely!
Telecom Regulatory Authority has mandated that
at least 50 per cent of telecom towers should be
energized through hybrid solutions. Do you think
that solar power could be a viable solution?
It is very viable and profitable. However, the
telecom companies must invest in this technology
rather than delay its adoption. For the telecom
sector, it has been proven beyond doubt that solar
is the only viable and feasible solution.
Please summarize your future plans, mainly in the area of solar
power for rural applications. Also, how important would be Kirti
Solar's share in Pekon Group's activities, say five years down
the line?
Kirti Solar Ltd shall be amongst the top three companies in
India in the area of off-grid solar systems, particularly in rural
areas. We are confident of building the largest supply and
installation network across the country, backed by our
leadership and experience in financing these systems. The
share of our solar business shall be approximately 60 per cent
in the Pekon Group.