Viz-A-Viz with Niranjan Nayak, Business Head – PVI | Delta Power Solutions India Pvt Ltd

Q. What kind of ROI can DELTA Inverters deliver to owners of solar power plant and what unique value proportion does it offer to its customers?

Delta Group was established in 1971 and is the global leader in power and thermal management solutions. Our mission statement- to provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow focuses our role in addressing key environmental issues such as global climate change. As an energy-saving solutions provider, Delta’s businesses encompass power electronics, energy management, and smart green life.

It is a proven fact that the cost of establishing a solar power plant is reducing day by day as it has reduced by almost 50% in past 5 years due to the continual advancements in solar panel and inverter technology which are increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost. Besides the cost factor, Delta’s comprehensive portfolio of inverters offers our customers’ industry’s leading efficiencies with maximum uptime guarantee which shortens the payback period and maximize the energy harvest. We have our in-house monitoring Solution with DelREMO for plant monitoring and Power Management.

We provide our customers with a wide range of products and services. We build our operations on long-term relationships and on innovative, energy-efficient solutions.

Q. Shed some light on the technology aspects of your Inverters which has been taken care while designing so that it can sustain variable climate of India.

With Delta’s cutting-edge technology, Delta Inverters are compact in size with durable quality.

IP65 enclosure provides higher level of protection and enhances its durability in a harsh outdoor environment which prevails across geographical locations in India. The wide operating temperature range of trouble free operation even in hot and cold climates. The inverters assure maximum efficiencies even in different humidity conditions (0~100%, Non-condensing) and elevations (<2000m).

Ergonomic grip design gives more convenience while moving the inverter during installation.

Q. How do you ensure that you fulfill Delta’s commitment to bring smarter and greener solutions in India?

Delta is devoted to innovation and systematically developing new products and technologies, particularly those that are high-efficiency and energy-saving.

India is leading the race in moving farther away from fossil fuel consumption and closer to a cleaner and greener economy. The benefits of this transition are enormous like better health due to clean environment, greater energy security, stronger economic growth and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Delta, as a thermal and power solutions provider, continuously upgrades the technology by investing heavily in R&D and green manufacturing; and delivering higher efficient products which are reliable, smart and green. Delta is continuously enhancing the engineering capabilities and is committed to developing innovative technologies and solutions for a better tomorrow.

Q. What kind of market share will you have by end of this year?

Delta has continued the legacy to lead the market share of rooftop solar inverters segment in India since 3 years. This year as well, we are leading with a market share of 36.5% in rooftop segment. We definitely look forward for 1 GW by the end of FY2017 in rooftop segment.

In the utility segment as well, we are strengthening our market share by positioning ourselves with technologically advanced higher capacity central inverter products. Considering the overall market outlook of Solar PV industry in India, we are confident to grab the maximum share by the end of this year.

“India is leading the race in moving farther away from fossil fuel consumption and closer to a cleaner and greener economy”

Q. As a key industry player what will be you top two suggestions for the Policy makers to address the current challenges?

The Indian solar market had its best first half and is on pace to have its best year. However, uncertainty around GST rates, financing for renewable energy projects, utilities renegotiating to get better rates, and the recently initiated anti-dumping case have stalled momentum in the sector and could have a significant negative effect.

India has already implemented GST from 1st July. The uncertainty still prevails in the tax slabs pertaining to the different components, especially for Solar Inverters. Because of this, the industry activity has slowed down immediately after GST implementation. The policy makers would have come out with clarity on the GST rates in favor of Solar PV systems and its components hopefully by the time this interview goes into publication. In India, the entry of commercial banks is increasing becoming a major source for financing infrastructure projects including renewable energy systems. But these national banks provide debt at a rate much higher than what is available in the developed nations. The ministry of new and renewable energy along with ministry of finance should come up with innovative financing measures to promote these capital-intensive renewable energy projects. Financing measures such as clean energy fund, generation based incentive linked loan repayment and green bonds are some of those.

Q. What are your growth plans in this space?

Delta recognizes the potential of India to become a powerhouse in manufacturing and its need for high energy efficiency which is one of Delta’s core competences.

Delta will expand R&D and manufacturing operations in the country with new facilities in Bangalore and Hosur respectively, in line with its long-term plans to harness India’s significant long-term growth potential. Delta India Electronics plans to develop smart energy management solutions with industry leading energy efficiency at its new R&D centre which is expected to create up to 500 engineering jobs within the next 3 years. In the next 10 years, Delta’s new factory in Hosur is expected to create up to 20,000 jobs for the manufacturing of power electronics, renewable energy and automation solutions. We have already started manufacturing of our central inverters from our Hosur facility which has current capacity of producing 50MW/month. This is expected to go upto 200MW by March 2018.

Our new R&D centre in Bangalore will be instrumental in the creation of innovative and energy-efficient technologies that will support the realization of national initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’.”

Q. What are the key issues that are plaguing the solar sector in India currently?

We are currently suffering from persistent energy shortage with average demand supply gap revolving around 12% of total power supply. This, coupled with rising energy needs, is a major factor driving the growth of this segment.

The other major road block hindering the growth from the supply side is huge demand for electricity in rural areas lacking grid connectivity. Having robust grid connectivity is essential. Micro-grid or off grid systems are an option in such locations.

Solar projects are capital intensive, and the lack of an effective financing infrastructure for these projects is another major factor impeding growth in this sector.

Q. Please list some of your key achievements of last 1 year.

Being a world leader in Power conversion technology, Delta offers a complete product range of solar inverters, accessories and services to our partners and installers and the best photovoltaic systems to maximize profit. With over 750MW of string and central grid-tied solar inverters already installed in India.

In the FY 2013-14 we had acquired 25.4% of the market share and currently, in the latest FY2016-2017 we have achieved 36.4%. We at Delta continuously enhance our engineering capabilities and committed to develop innovative technologies cum solutions for a better tomorrow. Delta quickly identifies the emerging trends and adapts to capture it quickly.

Q. How has the response in the rooftop solar market been? What are the key challenges faced by you in this sector.

As per the latest report on rooftop solar by Bridge to India, India added 678 MW of rooftop solar capacity in FY 2016-17, growing at 81% Y-o-Y. Delta’s market share alone is 247MW, the leading chunk of 36.4%. Strong market fundamentals including falling costs and improving debt financing mean that the market will continue strong growth trajectory for many years to come.

As the rooftop market is inching towards 1 GW installations during 2017-18; extensive and stable grid connectivity, Closer industry government cooperation for the technology; and training and development of human resources to drive industry growth and PV adoption are a few critical challenges.

Q. How do you address any service related query (if any) for your products? What is the turnaround time for that?

Building competencies around customer service and continually improving customer relations is one of the best ways to address service related queries.

We have setup a “Technical Support Center”, dedicatedly for addressing customer support queries 24X7. Through the technical support center, the customers can interact directly with our team of engineers who are experienced in both the inverters and applications. Technical support Engineers can use their extensive experience to help installers and end users solve problems quickly and effectively.

In case the solution is not possible via tele support, a ticket will be raised and engineer visit will be organized for the onsite support. In case it a replacement is needed, with 15 warehouses located across India, the turnaround time is the same day excluding the transportation time.