Pune-based Shree Sai Non-Conventional Energy (P) Ltd (SSNCEPL) recently set up its manufacturing plant at Chakan. The new factory, managed by S L Shrivastav and Ritesh Shrivastav, the company's chairman and director respectively, will assemble solar energy products for varied business segments such as agriculture, cooking, security, hospitality, construction and infrastructure, etc. Excerpts from an interview with the director...

Ritesh Shrivastav has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from VTU Bangalore and an MBA in Marketing from MIT, Pune. At SSNCEPL, Ritesh is responsible for the overall coordination of manufacturing, design, sales, marketing, administration, finance, human resources and planning departments. In addition to this, he has established a wide sales and service network across India. The new manufacturing facility at Chakan has been set up under his supervision and the company has also achieved ISO and SSI certification along with MNRE reports of various solar products.

What was the objective of setting up the new facility?

We want to manufacture a diversified product line in the solar energy segment. The reason is simple: there is an increasing demand for power and a lot of it is going to come from the non-conventional energy sources. According to a recent study, electricity production in India (excluding captive generation) stood at 911.6 terawatt-hours (TWh) in FY13. Presently, about 53.7 per cent of India's commercial energy demand is met through the country's vast coal reserves. India has also invested heavily in recent years on renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar energy. As of March 2011, India's installed wind power generation capacity stood at about 12,000 MW. The government has also committed massive amount of funds for the construction of various nuclear reactors, which would generate at least 30,000 MW. In July 2009, India unveiled a USD 19 billion plan to produce 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020 under the National Solar Mission.

Indian solar installations are forecast to be approximately 1,000 MW in 2014, according to Mercom Capital Group, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm. As such, the investment climate is positive in the power sector. Due to policy of liberalisation, the sector has witnessed higher investment flows than envisaged. The Ministry of Power has sent its proposal for the addition of 76,000 MW of power capacity in the 12th Five Year plan (2012-17), to the Planning Commission. The Ministry has set a target of adding 93,000 MW in the 13th Five Year Plan (2017-2022). The industry has attracted FDI worth Rs 43,530.99 crore (USD 7.24 billion) during the period April 2000 to May 2014.

Which are some of these major investments?

There are many examples: Suzlon Group has received a 100.8 MW order from ReNew Wind Power. The project is scheduled for execution at the Bhesada wind site in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan; Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Power, has successfully commissioned a 25 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power project at Mithapur, Gujarat under Gujarat's Solar Power Policy 2009; Jakson Group has won engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) orders aggregating USD 34.21 million for its electrical contracting and solar businesses for FY14; Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has commissioned a 160 MW gas-based power plant at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan for the state's power generation company; Swelect Energy Systems (SWEES) has commissioned its 15 MW solar energy park set up with an investment of Rs 106 crore near Vellakoil, Tamil Nadu.

What would be your prime focus?

Our emphasis will be on manufacturing products exclusively for the rural market segment while also catering to the demands of the general renewable energy sector in India. While products like solar water pumps can be used by farmers for irrigation purposes, solar power packs will help in giving back-up during power cuts. Similarly the company's products like solar fans, solar cookers and solar lanterns can be used by people residing in rural as well as urban areas. Some of our other products include solar street lights, solar fencing, solar home lighting and solar water heaters that can be used by construction and infrastructure industries. We all know that India is facing a huge energy shortage. Keeping that in mind, we have set up this facility to bridge the gap between a customer and the sources of energy supply. Since rural India suffers from a major backdrop in terms of energy, our solar products will help them fight energy shortage issues.

What has been your investment?

We have invested a sum of Rs 10 crore in the facility and expect to achieve Rs 100 crore turnover by year 2019. With SSNCEPL's sales offices already set up in different cities of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, the company also hopes to enter the southern India region in the coming years.

What is the USP of your products?

Our state-of-the-art facilities backed up by a team of experienced R&D professionals and an in-house testing laboratory will help us deliver quality products to future customers. Our company's products have been designed keeping in mind the requirements of the Indian market, while also focusing on the current global trends and technologies in solar equipments. In short, we are innovative yet economical. We will be participating in various trade shows such as the Kisan Agri Show so that we can showcase our customised product range for the agriculture and rural market.

SSNCEPL does not simply manufacture or sell solar products but looks at the client's needs holistically and focuses on providing well-engineered turnkey solutions. Backed by our strong R&D cell, we customise our products according to the specific requirements of a client, keeping also in mind the cost-effectiveness and long life of a product. Our partnership with clients continues even after the commissioning and installation of products. Through an extended support of after-sales service to their clients, we take care of repairs and modernisation of the products too. As importantly, through our in-house testing facility we ensure that the products meet safety standards while in application. This is how we differentiate between technology and solution. While technology is used to find a unique and reliable solution for a client's needs, solution consists of meeting a client's business needs around project costs, topline impact, bottomline impact and the overall total cost of solution ownership.

Do you have a plan to add to your product portfolio?

As of now our objective is to harness the power of solar energy but we are also looking at designing products that can tap into wind and biomass to generate electricity.

Contact Details:Shree Sai Non-Conventional Energy (P) Ltd, Malu Trade Centre, CDC-25, Spine Road, Chikhali, Chinchwad, Pune 411 019. Tel: 020-67344100. E-mail: info@shreesaienergy.com.