Smart Power India, Adani Solar In tie-up to promote Solar in Rural India

In a bid to ensure equitable access to last-mile electricity and encourage energy transition in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha states, Smart Power India (SPI), the Indian subsidiary of Rockefeller Foundation has signed a non-financial and non-commercial memorandum of understanding with Adani Solar.

The MoU aims to promote the usage of solar rooftop panels and achieve 5 MW of solar deployment through Adani Solar’s channel partners in rural and peri-urban areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. The initial phase would start with around five channel partners in UP followed by deployment in other states.

Talking about the memorandum Mukesh Khandelwal, Director C&I – Smart Power India said, “The objective of this MoU is to support inclusive economic growth and build resilient communities. SPI is delighted to work closely with Adani Solar to develop the ecosystem to scale and replicate sustainable businesses that provide renewable energy for productive use and expand the economic activity to underserved, rural areas in India”

Speaking on the occasion Jaideep Mukerji, CEO, SPI “We are excited to partner with Adani Solar and optimistic that their world-leading expertise in renewable energy will be a tremendous amplifier for SPI’s mission of creating C&I ecosystem across the nation”.

As per a NITI Aayog report, RTS power is a clean source of energy that lets producers monetize an otherwise idle asset, their rooftops. RTS helps reduce transmission and distribution losses, as generation and distribution are co-located. It offers large consumers such as the commercial and industrial (C&I) options to optimize costs and releases them from the burden of high tariffs for cross-subsidization.

Cecil Augustine, Head- Retail, Adani Solar said, “We are looking forward to this collaboration with Smart Power India. As most of the energy produced is consumed on the same premises, the loss associated with this source is very small. To address this, we have a huge network of channel partners who will benefit from SPI’s vast experience and field expertise in furthering the adoption of renewable energy models like rooftop solar, knowledge of which can prove to be a boon for the identified territories of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha. We hope to support the entire India’s C&I segment to get Solar.”

Adding to this, Rahul Bhutiani, Head – Sales & Marketing, Adani Solar, also said, “MSME segment in the Rural and Peri-Urban market will be the driving force of rooftop Solar space for the next two to three years. Through its enhanced manufacturing capacity, Adani Solar will be at forefront of serving this market. Collaboration with SPI will help Adani Solar serve this decentralized solar energy market in a rapid way”.

The  5 MW target might look modest considering the scale of the solar potential and ambition India has, but in the context of the states this initiative targets, as well as the scope for this push to serve as a demonstrator in these regions, we believe the initiative has a lot going for it. The four states being targeted here, besides West Bengal, remain the largest largest states with poor solar adoption.