BORG to provide power to people

BORG to provide power to people“We aim to provide micro solar power in 1 million homes within the next 3 years to enable people to produce their own electricity as part of green revolution,” expresses R. Sivakumar, Chief Operating Officer, BORG Energy India Pvt. Ltd.Within a short duration from the commencement of its India operations, BORG has registered commendable growth. BORG envisages reaching the leadership position in rooftop PV as well as EPC segments. In an exclusive interview with EPR, R. Sivakumar discusses in details.Setting an exampleTo be a leader, one needs to set an example, an example of self-motivated and hardcore passion for the work. When the entire team is driven by the idea of passion to work and spark to deliver – the synergy level of the team will be high, ensuring timely business output as a result of business objectives being accomplished. Motivating the employees, providing them with direction and focus and creating an enabling work environment, will make sure that the team succeeds, which in turn leads to business success.First of its kind Astra Home Series BORG has commenced its operations in the Indian market from early this year with the launch of Astra Home Series smartgrid solar micro power plant targeted at domestic households. The Astra Home Series is a first of its kind to be introduced for Indian consumers in the retail format in solar power market.Within a short duration from the commencement of its India operations, BORG has registered commendable growth. Within the 1st quarter of product launch, 150 happy customers installed Astra Series in their rooftop. The market has responded positively with customers expressing full satisfaction about the product, providing them uninterrupted power supply from three sources: primarily from solar, secondly through EB grid power and lastly through battery backup. It is also encouraging to know that the number of systems currently in the market place with dealers’ distribution channel is 1,500. The company will soon launch a fully loaded Astra Plus system pan India. BORG intends to open 229 power play showrooms across India within the next 6 months.Going through a challenging timeThe introduction of micro solar PV power plant to the household segment in India is a challenge in itself because such a product never existed earlier. The challenges include creation of awareness of product features and benefits of savings on energy consumptions costs and affordability to buy. To mitigate the initial cost of installation, BORG has introduced BORG Solar Finance in tie-up with leading consumer finance companies. India can power its millions of households through rooftop solar PV micro power plants right now. BORG has the shining example of Germany, in this regard.In the commercial rooftop systems, the nascent market at present is for captive consumption needs. However, state governments, who have announced the option of net metering in their respective solar policies, are yet to come out with detailed notifications and rules for implementing the same. The earlier this is done, large-scale gird connected rooftop PV system can take off.The major challenge for developers in the utility scale mega solar plant is non-availability of funds for putting up their projects. This is because many projects are not yet bankable.