Energetica India Magazine: september 2020

mitted to their safety and welfare. We have continuously and closely monitored the evolution of COVID -19 since the very beginning and have in every moment taken appropriate mea- sures in accordance with the local governmental and health authorities’ requirements. Also, the company is committed to best possibly ensure on- time deliveries and keeping the Service support operational during the pandemic. We have a well spread network of ser- vice engineers located closer to our project sites in India, and are providing 24x7 online support to our customers. Our cus- tomers can drop an online request 24x7 for any assistance required and our team will respond at the earliest to rectify any issues. For our site engineers or channel partners visiting sites, mandatory health checks are done, and prior permis- sions sought before going to the site. Strict protocols are in place and followed rigorously. Do you think demand for FIMER inverters will increase un- der India’s ‘Vocal for Local’ approach? If yes, what will be the company’s future strategy to tap the market demand? KN S reevatsa : Our main focus, in India and other markets, is to further expand our market share through the best support to our customers. Support means follow their needs and the market needs in terms of manufacturing, availability and Ser - vice. Our strategy will focus on these drivers and we will act following this mission. This is a wonderful opportunity for the nation to build its own resources and be an economic power- house in the future. We reinforce our long-term commitment to the Indian solar market with our premium quality inverters, robust and build to last. How significant is the selection of right in verter for a solar plant? KN S reevatsa : The inverter is the heart of a solar plant and should be hence carefully selected from a “Trusted Partner” only. The right inverter should be robust, built to last, have proven lifetime of 25 years and more. Along with this highest reliability, and optimum performance of the product to max- imize energy yields, availability of spares and service sup- port should be also prioritised. Any obsolescence of inverter technology leads to increase in operational maintenance cost of the plant significantly. It is therefore advisable to choose a long-term player in the market who is available for custom- er support during the complete lifetime of the plant. Hence it is very important to select the right inverter supplier, so that developers are assured of availability of spares and services alongside premium product quality. Figure 2: FIMER PVS980-58 5MVA inverter supplied at Nel - lore, AP-First 5MVA inverter to be commissioned in India 18 energetica INDIA- September_2020 INTERVIEW Our inverters ensure such high yields that they produce more energy than the market average. The technological strengths of our portfolio include the versatile design, enabling flexible use of the inverters in the application, the high quality of ma- terials used and extensive control of the entire production pro- cess, ensuring robust and reliable products for 25+ years in the field, always fully compliant with all safety standards. In your view, which segment can help India in achieving its maximum solar targets for 2022 – residential, C&I, grid connected utility scale or distributed? Why? KN S reevatsa : All segments play an important role in helping India achieve its set solar targets for 2022. Though utility-scale projects play an important role to achieve the scale of growth, there are ample opportunities available in C&I and residential segments as well. What will be your suggestions to the policy makers in or- der to boost EV adoption in the country? KN S reevatsa : We are very glad that standardisation is already in place by the government of India which is a welcome move to boost the growth of electric vehicle adoption in the country. It is to be noted that an EV policy for India must be tailor-made to India’s particular needs. We request the authorities to bring in a common policy for installation and owning the charging stations and uniform policy for introducing charging as a ser- vice in India. Accelerating the availability of necessary elec- tricity network infrastructure as well as domestically produced technologically superior EVs, chargers and components will bring down costs and increase the options available for trans- portation electrification in India.