Energetica India Magazine January-February 2021

Ritu Lal Senior VP & Head, Institutional Relations at Amplus Solar “Availability of Skilled Manpower in Construction and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Remains a Challenge” 32 energetica INDIA- Jan-Feb_2021 How has been your journey so far, being a woman, in the renewable energy industry? Ritu Lal : When I began my journey in the Renewable Ener- gy industry nearly 7 years ago, I did have some initial ap- prehensions, but these were because I did not have any prior sectoral experience, not because of gender issues. India’s solar story was just beginning and rooftop solar was in a nascent stage at the time. I knew I would be working on something meaningful - a commercial venture deliv- ering savings on power costs - while contributing to the health of the environment. The Amplus model was innovative– taking the utility scale power sale concept and adapting it for the distributed rooftop sector. Rooftop solar as a service proved to be a game changer in this segment, especially for the Com- mercial and Industrial customers. Amplus also grew from the four-member start-up that I had joined in March 2014 to become India’s leading distributed solar developer. It has been a very exhilarating journey, all in all. How do you see the role of women in the renewable ener- gy sector with changing times? Ritu Lal : At the time when I started, I noticed that there were very few women in the energy industry and even fewer in the solar sector. Some of this can be attributed to the ratio of men to wom- en in our engineering institutes, as a lot of these jobs have their roots in engineering. Secondly, coal and petroleum, the two biggest components in the energy industry, did WOMEN INFLUENCER The Renewable Energy industry is growing very rapidly, and so are the jobs in this sector. Yes, the female to male ratio is a bit low, but it is gradually improving as organisations are also looking at ways to make the work- place more equitable. I encourage women to apply for jobs in solar, as this is an exciting area to work in, with tremendous growth opportunities. In an exclusive interaction series with women influencers in the power sector, Manu Tayal , Associate Editor, Energetica India, interacted with Ritu Lal , Senior VP & Head, Institutional Relations at Amplus Solar. Here’re some edited excerpts from that interaction: