A Lot More Clarity Is Required On The Net Metering Policies

Rooftop solar photovoltaic installations have the potential to address climate change issues by reducing our reliance on conventional fossil fuel based energy. Indian solar players have also geared up to help the country achieve the set target of 175GW by 2022. In an interaction with the Baishakhi Dutta of Electronics Bazaar, Simarpreet Singh, founder, Hartek Solar Pvt Ltd talks about the company’s foray into the Indian solar space with the aim to make bigger inroads in the growing rooftop solar domain.

EB: Do highlight the current situation in the Indian solar industry

Fundamentally, right from when the National Solar Mission (2011) was set up, the plan was to install 20GW by 2020. Then in 2014, this target was further revised to 100GW by 2022, out of which 60GW was to be installed on land and 40GW on rooftops.

At present, India has already installed a capacity of 20GW, which is well ahead of the original time frame. Apart from this, a capacity of 15GW - 20GW is in the pipeline. Overall, the sector has come a long way and solar is now cheaper than thermal power, with the current tariffs being low. Regarding technology, per se, the solar sector has really ramped up.

EB: What are the ongoing trends in the Indian solar industry?

One trend is that rooftop solar is finally taking off. Out of the targeted 40GW from rooftops, practically nothing has been achieved, as such, except for installations adding up to a meager 2GW-3GW. So this year, you will have seen that rooftop solar has picked up pace. Another domain that has picked up momentum is the solar parks. Two to three years back, there was the persistent problem of building the grid infrastructure. It’s been only two years since the concept of solar parks was introduced.

Operational maintenance is something that we have been speaking of at Hartek for the last four to five years. Solar installations are a long term asset but sadly, no one is talking about maintaining these assets over extended periods of time. Therefore operational maintenance is a big trend that will soon emerge either this year or the next. So these are the three major business trends that we foresee driving the solar market in the coming days also.

EB: Kindly walk us through Hartek Group’s current business model and sales strategy.