INDUSTRY JEWEL: Pradeep Kumar, Managing Director - India and Sri Lanka, LONGi Solar

Education and Background:
Mr. Pradeep Kumar leads the India and Sri Lanka business of LONGi Solar, one of the leading manufacturers of high-ef­ficiency mono-crystalline solar cells and modules. As a student of Engineering he has completed his Bachelor’s Degree in BE (Electrical & Electronics), and Post Graduation as MBA in the Marketing and International Business streams.
 
Work experience:
Mr. Pradeep Kumar is having more than 12 years of experience across solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, solar in­verters, HV and MV switchgear, power transformers, distribution and special application transformers, cable acces­sories & jointing kits, safety equipment, etc. He also has key account manage­ment experience for Thermal, Hydro, Wind and Solar projects.
 
Current Work Goals and Achievements:
In the current work goals, Mr. Pradeep is responsible for building the core team of LONGi’s business in India. His achieve­ments include increasing shipments to India from supplying 175 MW capacity in 2019, to more than 1,400 MW capac­ity of shipments in 2020, and more than 3,000 MW in 2021 i.e. from January to September, and he is targeting much more to happen before December 2021.
 
Industry Outlook:
The Indian renewable energy sector is one of the most attractive and promis­ing renewable energy markets in the world. The country is targeting about 450 Gigawatt (GW) of installed renew­able energy capacity by 2030 - about 280 GW (over 60 per cent) is expected from solar. Installed renewable pow­er-generation capacity has increased at a fast pace over the past few years, posting a CAGR of 15.51 per cent be­tween FY16 and FY21. We have already crossed 100GW installed capacity by August 2021.
 
The Government is committed to in­creasing the use of clean energy sourc­es and is already undertaking various large-scale sustainable power projects and promoting green energy. In addi­tion, renewable energy has the potential to create many employment opportu­nities at all levels. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set an ambitious target to set up renewable energy capacities to the tune of 227 GW by 2022, of which about 114 GW is planned for solar, 67 GW for wind and other for hydro and bio among others. India’s renewable energy sector is ex­pected to attract investment worth US$ 80 billion in the next four years.
 
Under the National Solar Mission, India has done a phenomenal job in terms of its transition to Renewable energy. We have always been one of the top countries in the world when it comes to adding renewable capacity. We could already see good progress in terms of adopting clean energy. But at the same time, the need for clean energy is much more due to the rising levels of carbon footprint in the country. If we see global­ly, India has played an instrumental role in promoting Renewable energy for a very long time now. The journey looks promising despite facing several chal­lenges on the way!