Chandigarh, July 2015: Su-Kam moves from making solar equipment to owning solar generation — a fresh 15 MW pipeline across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi Metro, Southern Railways, and an African export push.
The Tribune’s Ruchika M. Khanna reports from Chandigarh on the next step for Su-Kam Power Systems: after a decade of making solar hardware, the company is now becoming a generator in its own right. Managing Director Kunwer Sachdev tells the paper Su-Kam will set up 15 MW of solar power across new projects in Punjab and Haryana, on top of the plants it already runs elsewhere.
The 15 MW pipeline — Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh
Sachdev tells the paper Su-Kam has recently entered solar generation and already runs two small projects. It is now supplying solar power to Delhi Metro in Gurgaon, to Southern Railways in Tamil Nadu, and has set up a rooftop solar plant in Chandigarh. On top of that base, the company plans to bring an additional 15 MW online by the end of 2015, focused on Punjab and Haryana.
Africa: the next export beat
Alongside the domestic build-out, The Tribune notes Su-Kam is expanding its solar business internationally, with a particular focus on African countries. The company plans to accelerate exports of solar panels into the African market, where grid gaps make distributed solar a natural fit.
“We are providing solar power to Delhi Metro in Gurgaon; to Southern Railways in Tamil Nadu and have set up a rooftop solar plant in Chandigarh. We propose to start generating an additional 15 MW by the end of this year.”— Kunwer Sachdev, MD, Su-Kam Power Systems • The Tribune, 10 July 2015
Why Su-Kam is stepping in now
Sachdev’s framing to the paper is that solar is a “sunshine industry” and the government’s commitment to 100 GW of solar by 2022 makes the business opportunity too large to ignore. Su-Kam has manufactured solar equipment for over ten years, supplying large Indian companies and exporting to Africa — so moving from equipment supplier to owning the generation projects is, in his words, a natural progression.
Solar is now 25 per cent of Su-Kam’s business
The Tribune closes on the shift inside Su-Kam’s revenue mix. Solar panel manufacturing and solar generation together now make up about 25 per cent of the company’s total business — a significant slice for a firm still best known for inverters, UPS systems and automotive backup, which remain the largest contributors.
“Su-Kam to set up solar power plants in Punjab, Haryana” — The Tribune (print edition).