Electrical safety auditing is a neglected segment

Ashok Kewat, Managing Director, Ashone Technologies Pvt. Ltd., shares industry perspectives on the challenges faced by solar companies, and plans to overcome them.
How are current renewable energy trends influencing solar PV production and EPC companies?
The demand for renewable power is increasing daily as per government policies, and they are promoting solar beginners, so the production of PV panels is also growing. Apart from that, the government has imposed heavy import duty on foreign-made panels, which eventually has increased domestic production. Also, sales are growing simultaneously in India.

What are the implications of your company for the recent imposition of tax on solar imports of solar products?
We all are affected badly. We had two projects ongoing when this imposition was done. The project was hit badly. It wasn’t easy to convince the customer that the project cost had gone too high in between. It has become the trend now, and customers are aware that the price has gone up, and all the new projects we have aligned with the new cost.
What challenges do Indian solar EPC players face, particularly in cost and project procurement?
According to the pattern over the last two to three years, the cost has climbed by 50 percent since 2019. Prices have decreased, but the introduction of this import charge has increased panel costs by 30 percent once more. So, the price per panel has risen, impacting projects, so we are convincing people that the government has imposed the charge as part of the “Make in India” effort. Subsidized products are preferable since they are less expensive and the government will support them through subsidies.