2018, the Indo-Pak border: how Kunwer Sachdev and Su-Kam replaced noisy diesel generators at remote BSF posts with 1.5 kW Solar PCU systems — and gave jawans clean, silent, uninterrupted power.
The year is 2018. The Indo-Pak border — harsh, isolated, and a logistical nightmare to keep supplied with diesel — is about to see a quiet shift. At a remote Border Security Force post, Kunwer Sachdev, Managing Director of Su-Kam Power Systems, is standing in the wind, watching jawans wrestle with the daily grind of noisy generators and dwindling fuel. It is the kind of problem Su-Kam was built to solve.
The problem: diesel at the frontier
Diesel generators were the default at forward BSF posts — polluting, loud, and dependent on convoys that rarely arrived on time. Keeping lights and radios running was a constant fight; the operating cost per unit of electricity was punishing; and the noise meant no acoustic cover in a place that occasionally needed it.
The Solar PCU — built for ‘sun-scarce’ days
Su-Kam’s R&D team had been building specialised solar-based inverters — Solar PCUs — designed to keep functioning even when the sun stayed away for days. Power draw was kept minimal, and when the load was off, the inverter cut everything except a trickle of battery charging. The units were engineered to be light enough for jawans to move themselves.
1.5 kW per post — personally supervised
Sachdev did not run this from Gurgaon. He spent weeks travelling to the border, walking each site, and personally supervising the installation of a 1.5 kW solar system at each post — a Solar PCU inverter, 500 W solar panels, and batteries sized to carry the load through nights and cloud cover. Every unit was hardened for extreme temperature and dust storms.
“Soon the BSF posts were bathed in the clean, silent glow of solar power. The reliance on noisy, polluting diesel generators was reduced — improving the living conditions for the jawans.”— Powering the Frontier, Su-Kam archive
Engineering for a border, not a bungalow
The team had to design around voltage imbalance and frequent outages common in remote areas, battery undercharging and overheating in extreme temperatures, and the sheer difficulty of hauling equipment across border terrain. Regular maintenance schedules and proper ventilation were baked in from day one — not added later as tickets.
Outcome: lights, fans, quiet
Dedication and engineering met at the finish line. BSF posts were soon powered by clean, silent solar — lights and fans humming, communication radios up, diesel dependence sharply down. For jawans posted at the edge of the country, quality of life quietly improved. For Su-Kam, it was proof that if a solar system works on the Indo-Pak border, it works anywhere in India.
‘Powering the Frontier by Solar Power’ — Solar Man of India archive →