Finance Monthly CEO Awards 2016 Edition

FINANCE MONTHLY CEO AWARDS 2016 95 www.finance-monthly.com INDIA CEO Insight What were some of Amplus’ major achievements in the past twelve months? • Amplus has recently won the first National Excellence Award from Govt. of India for rooftop project development. The award was presented as part of the first ever National Workshop on Rooftop Solar in India organized by MNRE. • Built up a portfolio of over 30MW of operational and under-construction solar rooftop projects spread over more than 200 locations in the firm’s first year of operation since raising capital. • Commissioned India’s largest captive solar project at a manufacturing facility in a timeframe of only 4 months. Given that the solar industry has expanded exponentially in the past few years - what potential for growth do you see for the company? The Government of India has an ambitious target of 40% of the new capacity of 100GW coming up as rooftop solar. With this, the annual market for rooftop / off-grid is expected to reach anywhere between 3-5 GW. Amplus Energy is a pure play distributed energy company – we are focusing on assisting energy consumers to leverage uninhabited space to bring down energy consumption costs and achieve greater control on energy supply. We anticipate that by 2016, the solar rooftop capacity in India would be more than 1000MW (it was 740 MW in March 2016) with major industries and commercial customers adopting solar power. Amplus is well placed to take up a majority share of this upcoming capacity. Going forward, we expect storage to get coupled with the distributed generation segment that will further provide impetus to the growth of self- generation model of energy for the consumers. We also expect that the consumers will be focused more on energy efficiency measures in-line. What would you say are typical challenges surrounding solar-related projects in India? Rooftop solar is naturally insulated against market related risks (including land acquisition, SEB health and evacuation capacity). In fact, despite relatively higher capital costs, rooftop solar systems are a cheaper source of power vis- à-vis grid power for Commercial & Industrial users making it an economically viable alternative for these power consumers. Although the government is highly progressive and has taken several measures to strengthen the regulatory framework for rapid development of the sector, the ecosystem is still at a developmental phase. In order for the distributed (rooftop) segment to scale up, it requires the following enablers: • Support from the regulators in terms of clear net metering policy guidelines; • Demand side pull in terms of enforcing renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) • Grid infrastructure of the distribution companies to accommodate banking; • Non-recourse financing for rooftop projects from financial institutions; • Mandating large consumers to set up solar rooftop systems; • Providing REC benefits to rooftop solar projects; and • Waiver of electricity duty and other charges etc. Can you tell us about the portfolio of renewable assets which Amplus is currently developing? Amplus has a significant pipeline of projects across India. With a total capacity of 30MW (including operational and under-construction projects), Amplus is one of the largest rooftop solar companies in India. We have a diverse portfolio of clients including manufacturing organizations across Aerospace & Defence, Automotive, FMCG, Consumer Durables, Pharma, Food processing, etc. as well as commercial establishments like Retail chains, Educational institutes, Hospitals & Healthcare, Office buildings, Malls etc. What goals did you arrive with as a manging director of Amplus Solar? Amplus has always been focused on providing energy solutions closer to the customer since we firmly believe that the model of centralised utility is under severe threat and customers are looking to find energy security within their backyard. Solar provides that true flexibility where people can generate solar power everywhere. In certain parts of the world, gas based cogeneration plants or biomass plants are also fairly viable. Over a period of time, we will also be quite vigilant about the needs of our customers and changing technology trends across the world that will support us in continued growth. What education or prior experience helped you succeed at your current company? I have spent more than two decades working in the Indian and international energy sector. The energy sector has gone through cycles of changes starting with deregulation of the state owned monopolies across the world; the one that led to the growth of IPPs. We have seen large international IPPs and the slow growth of domestic firms taking their place. The fuel sources have been shifting from hydro to gas to coal to wind and now to solar. Except the electrons that do not change, everything in the electricity sector has been changing. Now the final focus seems to be on the customer making his own energy choice. Amplus is one of the largest rooftop solar companies in India “ “