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”.
About Smart Power India (SPI)
SPI, a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation, was established in 2015 to develop and scale sustainable models to accelerate electricity access and spur economic development amongst the rural underserved communities. It is committed to creating knowledge and accountability in the public domain through robust evidence-based research and providing field and analytical support to the Government, private sector, implementers, and other donors in their pursuits for rural electricity access. SPI develops and disseminates relevant knowledge in the rural electricity access and services space to promote research and innovation and partner with policymakers, practitioners, and academic institutions to come up with actionable insights and innovative strategies.
While SPI’s work covers the spectrum of supply and demand-side issues of rural electricity, its focus is the last-mile customer. SPI exchanges knowledge by promoting and facilitating platforms for networking, knowledge sharing and collaborative research, networking, knowledge-sharing, and collaborative research.
About Adani Solar
Adani Solar – Mundra Solar PV Ltd. is the solar PV manufacturing arm of Adani Group, one of India’s largest business houses with businesses spanning across Resources, Logistics, Energy, Agri, and ancillary industries. Adani Solar is the first Indian company to vertically integrate businesses that offer services across the spectrum of photovoltaics manufacturing.
The state-of-the-art 3.5 GW of modules and cells manufacturing facility with multi-level infrastructure is in one of the world’s largest Special Economic Zone at Mundra, Gujarat, and hence plays host to the entire solar manufacturing ecosystem from Polysilicon to modules, including ancillaries and supporting utilities. The cutting-edge technology, with machines and equipment sourced from the best-in-class producers, aims to help in cost leadership, scale of operations, and reliability standards as per global benchmarks.
