BluPine Energy On Track To Achieve Its RE Targets: Rahul Mishra

BluPine Energy On Track To Achieve Its RE Targets: Rahul Mishra

BluPine Energy started operations in India in 2021. Since then what were the major milestones for the firm?

BluPine started its Commercial and Industrial (C&I) segment in 2022. Since then, we have secured around 400 MW of C&I projects in states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Chattisgarh. The company has planned to add a cumulative renewable energy capacity of 4 GW. Meanwhile, it has earmarked a total target of around 800-1000 MW from its C&I business while the remaining will be utility-scale projects. Currently, we have around 2.4 GW of under-construction projects. So we are very hopeful of achieving our overall target of 4 GW soon.

Why most of your projects are confined to Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra?

Our operating assets are spread in 13 states. Many of our projects are concentrated in some states because of the way the bids have happened. In the C&I segment, we are in Karnataka (a heavily industrialized state), Maharashtra (again a C&I favored location) and in Chhattisgarh. So these are three states where we have the capacities. We expect to start operations in Tamil Nadu and a couple of other states shortly. 

On the utility side, we have a strong presence in Gujarat in solar as well as wind because a lot of bids have happened in Gujarat. We have around 600 MW of capacity there. Gujarat is also one of the major off-takers of renewable energy. So it is a favoured destination.  So it is a strategic decision to be in Gujarat. For ISTS (Inter-State Transmission System) projects, we prefer Rajasthan because of the good solar irradiation and better transmission networks and projects. On the other hand, southern India offers good scope for wind projects.

Among your C&I consumers, which segment seems to be most aspiring to go for green power?

Any large manufacturing setup or process industry offers a good opportunity for our C&I segment as many of them are willing to opt for green power. These include the likes of cement, steel, automobile, and textile industries among others. The main reason behind this is the direct benefit they see in reducing their power bills by opting to renewable energy sources.

For example, in Karnataka, we have cement, and steel industries as the largest consumer base. Then, we have smaller consumers, spread across pharma, R&D units among others. In Chhattisgarh steel industries are a major green energy consumer. Maharashtra is a mix of data centers and manufacturing industries because of the government’s focus on data centers.

What opportunities do data centers offer to renewable energy companies and how they are different from other C&I consumers?

They are large consumers, because of the nature of business. There is a huge amount of data that is being processed at these centers. It could be either due to banking, Artificial Intelligence (AI) or others. These data centers are nothing but real estate buildings that host multiple floors with data storage devices. Due to their varied energy needs, they rely heavily on electricity to cater to their work demand. Renewable energy gives them great relief by reducing their operational costs.  

Besides this, several of these data centers have global clients like Amazon, Facebook or Intel, or others who have their own net zero and sustainability targets. They have commitments to go green. So, for them typing up with green data centers fulfills their other corporate aspirations too.

How have the Green Energy Open Access rules affected your business?

Earlier, only the industrialized states had a formal Open Access Policy. Now, after a push from the Centre, even other states are coming up with their policies, which is a good sign for the Indian renewable industry. However, the implementation of this policy becomes key. It will take around 1-2 years for all departments concerned in the states to come together to make it a success. There is also some reluctance from discoms due as it affects revenues from their high-paying consumers.

Open access approvals are critical. Issues like the settlement of power, wheeling and banking process and others often take more time for clarity in states. Right now, few states like Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have come up with such policies. States like Haryana had a policy, and they have revised it too. One by one more states are now coming up with their local Open Access Policies.

What makes BluPine unique, especially if one talks about the C&I segment?

We have created a separate business for C&I. The team has enough experience over the last 7-8 years. Since we are in both the segments (Utility and C&I), we have a dedicated team only handling C&I. Because, in C&I, construction periods are shorter, the development cycle is different, and the policy intervention varies.

What are the major challenges the C&I segment India suffers from?

I would say it’s a very opportunistic business as it’s driven by the policies of the state. So, Centre has very clearly given a directive that open access should be allowed, and it’s been there forever in the Electricity Act 2003. But the prominence that you see now is because of many folds. One of the reasons is the government initiative at the Center.

Second, the industries are highly aware and are committed to carbon footprint reduction. Net zero commitments have already been made by large corporate houses and the smaller houses are following that because it adds value on multiple fronts. So, you know, overall, I think awareness, commitment, all of this is there. The policy-level implementation remains the challenge. Land in India is getting difficult. So, these two factors will always be the challenging areas in terms of how states are helping implement these projects and how the land happens too.