Not Having A Central Net Metering And Subsidy Policy Is A Challenge

Corrit Energy and Infra, a Gurugram, based solar EPC company provides engineering, procurement, and construction services in and around Delhi- NCR is now gearing up for the next phase of growth. In an emailed response to Saur Energy, Corrit’s CEO and Director, Mayur Mishra, sheds further light on the solar energy industry, key requirements and challenges and shares views on broad trends that will drive the uptake in solar. Among other achievements, Mishra has completed the Energy Innovation Certificate Program with Stanford University.

Q.1. Can you talk about your offerings and your presence in India, that set you apart from the rest of the players, and gives you an edge in the EPC market?

We are a full-fledged EPC company executing solar projects. We also work with leading developers for projects to be executed under OPEX model. We have an in-house design and engineering team with a cumulative experience of over 100MWp in execution.

We carry a capability to execute pan-India level projects and have a dedicated team to look after the residential projects. We have already executed projects in over eight states of India.

Q.2 What is Corrit’s working model? 

Corrit, as an EPC company, carries a thorough inspection before finalizing the engineering BoM. We offer turn-key solutions and warrant the generation to ensure timely recovery of the investment made. Our primary mode of customer acquisition digital marketing and by being associate with large developers.

Q.3 Can you talk about your customer profile? How is Corrit bridging the existing gap in terms of awareness generation about the functionalities, ROI, and long-term benefits of investing in solar energy?

About 80% of the company business comes from large commercial and industrial consumers. The single largest project been implemented by the company is of 5.4MWp in Pune. We hold in-person meetings and detailed discussions with its customers before suggesting them with a solution. A dedicated manager then looks after the entire project.

Q.4 Can you share insights on your biggest successfully executed residential and industry projects?  

The most successfully executed residential project would be that of a 200KWp plant executed over a society complex. The project was special as it was to be carried over six different rooftops and has met the generation forecast for four years since commissioning. The most successfully or rather challenging executed industrial project was done over an office space where the plant had to be supported at a height of over 20ft. from the ground level.

Q.5 Having experience of working in eight states, what do think is a key enabling factor for the market?

Production Linked Incentives have already made many large players invest in the manufacturing solutions. This is paving the way to capitalize on India’s target of 500 gigawatts by 2030. In the coming years we also expect the solutions to become more affordable with Reliance venturing into this space and Adani expanding their operations.

Many states including Haryana are giving occupancy certificates only upon installation of Solar Plant for minimum required capacity. Even the PSUs and Govt. banks are in support and have made Solar a part of their priority lending.

Q.6 In terms of adoption by private, government and residential segments, what is the level of interest you see in transitioning to use of solar energy?

Given the Government’s encouragement, solar plants are no more a luxury investment but a part of fundamental plan for various organizations. Majority of existing institutions have already taken the step in this direction or are actively pursuing the plan. By 2025, it is expected that over 50% of commercial consumers will have at least a fraction of electricity consumption coming from solar plants.

Q.7 And what is missing in terms of policy support from EPC perspective?

There can be lot of policies like putting a cap on net-metering is one of the biggest hurdles, not having a central net metering and subsidy policy is another challenge and more channels of financial support are needed.

Q.8 What are your future investment plans of the market? Any new product or service offerings lined up?

In my opinion, the future would be that of an OPEX based model for a residential society and residents. As a company we aim to bridge that gap in the coming three years. We would be indulging in some R&D on inverters and might also venture into its production later.