Leaders at REConnect Coimbatore 2025 Urge Stronger Infrastructure for Tamil Nadu’s Solar Growth
At the REConnect Summit 2025 held in Coimbatore, industry leaders and policymakers highlighted the urgent need to strengthen grid infrastructure, streamline land and transmission approvals, and accelerate rooftop adoption to fully tap Tamil Nadu’s solar potential.
December 04, 2025. By News Bureau
Giving a glimpse about Tamil Nadu's capacity, Balaaji CS, Founder and CEO, DIVINITAS Energy Consultants, notified that the average demand is around 20,000 megawatt and the installed capacity of solar and wind itself is 20,000 megawatt.
“Even with that, during peak wind season, we are able to evacuate 100 million units. And the average solar evacuation stands at around 40 million units. Regarding the C&I perspective, out of this average 350 to 400 million units per day consumption, even if we account 40 to 50 percentage to industrial and commercial, the daily requirement is 150,” he added.
Talking about the promotion of ARI, especially solar and wind, RK Vinothan BE, MIE, Director/Technical (Retired), Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation, mentioned that as years pass on, it is getting increased.
“Now, the installed capacity in Tamil Nadu State is about 11,000 in solar, similarly 11,000 in wind and hydro; totally about 25,000, including biomass, co-generation, everything. And, I think projects in the pipeline may be around 5000 MW in respect of the solar and about 1000 MW in respect of the wind. Maybe, we may be getting it within a year or so. So, investments are being made regularly in the solar and wind field.”
He, however, questioned the infrastructure augmentation to meet the increase of solar generation.
“Wind energy in our state is available only in specific high-wind corridors, which is why windmills are concentrated in a few belts. Solar, on the other hand, is far more versatile and can be set up across all districts wherever land is available, giving it a clear advantage. However, solar development still faces constraints related to transmission and distribution networks. Setting up substations, building transmission lines, acquiring land, and handling challenges, all add time and cost. Land prices have also risen steeply in many districts, creating additional bottlenecks for large-scale solar projects,” he said.
Further, according to him, rooftop systems require less investment, have shorter execution timelines, and reduce transmission and distribution losses since power is generated and consumed locally. Despite having around 11,000 MW of installed solar capacity in the state, rooftop solar accounts for only about 1,200 MW, highlighting significant untapped potential.
Expressing his thoughts on Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG), technology that creates clean drinking water from moisture in the air, Shivakumar Kurup, Domestic Business Head, Akvo Atmospheric Water System, said, “We make water out of thin air—not just a bottle, a jar, or a tub, but hundreds to thousands of litres per day, directly from atmospheric moisture. Our company has been working in this space for the past 10 years, and today we have a footprint of nearly 200,000 litres of water generated daily from air.
“We have deployed this technology across industries and institutions in Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Dubai, the Philippines, and Colombia. And we follow a customer-friendly model: we don’t insist that customers buy or invest in the equipment. Instead, we encourage them to simply buy the water on a per-litre basis—a service we call WOW: Water On Want.”
Manesh Dani, Vice President – Sales and Marketing, SolarYaan, highlighted Tamil Nadu as a promising state for renewable energy, especially rooftop solar, which offers significant advantages. He explained that key components like solar panels, inverters, and cables are critical to the system, and their company has extensive experience in this space—serving 1,500+ EPC companies and holding 10 percent market share in inverters.
“As more commercial and industrial consumers begin adopting renewable energy on their campuses—whether through CAPEX, OPEX, or RESCO models—we will witness a major green transformation in Tamil Nadu. The state’s strong industrial and automotive base only increases the demand for reliable, cost-efficient power. Looking ahead, inverter efficiency will become even more important. With ALMM guidelines already in place to safeguard domestic manufacturers, we expect similar frameworks from MNRE that will shape the future of inverter standards in India. At the same time, as installations grow, grid health will become a concern, making energy storage systems an essential part of future projects,” he said.
Going further, Amal Nayak, President—Operations, Contendre Greenergy, talked about India’s solar manufacturing ecosystem, the growth of renewable energy, and the challenges and opportunities created by government policies—especially ALMM and the upcoming ALMM 2 with DCR (Domestic Content Requirement).
“India currently has close to 100 GW of module manufacturing capacity enlisted under ALMM. Our Honourable Prime Minister has set an ambitious vision of achieving 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, and we have already crossed 200 GW. This means that in the next five years, India must install another 250–300 GW of renewable capacity. The opportunity is immense for everyone in the sector—but it also comes with responsibilities,” he stated.
Mahendra Bharaskar, Head of Business Development, Anand Ebeam Cables India, shed light on the importance of using high-quality, standards-compliant cables in solar power plants, and why cable selection—though a small part of the project cost—is critical for performance, safety, and reliability.
He explained, “Cables may account for only two to three percent of a solar project’s overall cost, but they are absolutely critical to system performance. Just as blood flows through veins, current flows through cables—making them the lifeline that connects high-quality modules and inverters. Even if the major components are the best in the market, the entire system depends on the reliability of the cables that tie everything together.”
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