Interview: Damian Miller
Co-founder and CEO at Orb Energy
Orb has so far installed more than 300 MW in India
August 08, 2024. By News Bureau
Que: Please provide an overview of Orb Energy’s journey and its current position in India.
Ans: Over the last four years, Orb Energy has emerged consistently as one of the top 5 players in the EPC category for rooftop solar in India, as measured by ‘Bridge to India’. Our highest ranking was no. 3, but typically we are in the top 5. We don’t work with PPA providers to reach this goal, we go directly to our rooftop customers and we sell to them with a mix of cash and in-house finance. Our target customers have always been the MSME and remains the MSME. That is where we find we have an edge in terms of our reach to this customer base, and also our in-house finance facility is specifically targeted at the MSME.
Orb is unique among India’s solar providers in extending 4 to 5-year finance on its own balance sheet to MSMEs who would like to own their own rooftop solar system, but prefer to finance it rather than purchase it outright. Having finance in-house has been a key asset for Orb Energy as we have grown and continue to grow, and this facility has not only financed 80 MW of rooftop sales (out of roughly 300 MW total installed base by Orb Energy) but has also performed exceptionally well as a portfolio. Interestingly in the latest ranking of Orb Energy by Bridge to India in the ‘developer’ section (e.g. financier section) Orb moved into 4th position! which shows the strength and power of our finance facility for MSMEs.
Seeing that some larger SMEs need more electricity than their rooftop will allow. Orb has also innovated with an off-site model, where an SME can own a portion of a solar park developed by Orb Energy. Orb rolled out its first such solar park in Karnataka, with a total size of approximately 35 MW DC, and found an excellent response from SMEs, which is now underpinning its next solar park in Karnataka. Alongside rooftop solar, Orb sees being able to offer an off-site solution to SMEs as a critical part of its product portfolio going forward. Obviously here the ticket sizes are much bigger: if our average SME rooftop system is 250 kWp, the average off-site solution for SMEs is more like 2.5 MWp (10 times bigger!).
Que: Discuss Orb Energy's sustainability goals, the roadmap for FY 2024 - 25, and its role in advancing the renewable energy agenda.
Ans: By combining both rooftop and ground mounted solar solutions and serving the underserved MSME part of the solar market in India, Orb is making not only a big environmental impact, but also a social one. The environmental impact comes from helping SMEs maximise their use of solar beyond what their rooftop allows – ultimately ensuring that more MW of electricity consumption comes from solar. Orb has so far installed more than 300 MW in India, and projects that by 2030 will exceed 1 GW – again serving almost entirely the MSME sector.
The social impact comes from helping make SMEs more competitive, and thereby underpinning more employment generation, often in semi-urban to rural areas where many SMEs are located.
Que: Q: What challenges do you see in the industry? How do you plan to make solar energy affordable, accessible, and hassle-free?
Ans: Making solar affordable, accessible and hassle-free has been our mission from day one, and it continues to guide our work. But we see that for a lot of MSMEs, investing in rooftop solar can be daunting: which vendor to choose? which components are best? who will deliver the best installation? who will give me after-sales service? who will help me finance it? etc.
By being vertically integrated Orb resolves all the questions for the MSME under one roof. We make our own solar panels in our own factory in Bangalore, which guarantees the quality of the components used in a module. Further, we design and install the system to high quality level, overseen by our extensive and experienced in-house technical field force. We also go the extra mile on after-sales service, delivering 3 free preventative visits in the first year – we don’t wait for a problem, we go out and help to maintain systems so that problems don’t arrive in the first place. And of course, as already discussed we finance rooftop solar and ground-mounted solution off of our own balance sheet, which makes the finance process for an SME totally seamless.
Being vertically integrated from end to end, is how Orb Energy addresses the barriers and challenges now pertaining in the rooftop and ground-mounted solar market, particularly as they are experienced by MSMEs.
Que: Could you shed some light on production capabilities in terms of access to raw materials and technologies, financing schemes and competitiveness in the global markets?
Ans: Orb Energy is primarily India-focussed, but we do also have a subsidiary in Kenya serving the African rooftop sector, also for MSMEs. The systems we install in Africa are supplied almost entirely from India, and I can say without a doubt that Orb Energy is highly competitive in these international markets. Operating in India you have to be extremely focused on delivering high quality and low cost of goods, and this focus and dedication pays off when you export to other markets. Over the years we hope to be able to export more and more internationally.
With regard to our production capabilities, we produce our own solar panels, and that definitely enhances our competitiveness in India as well as abroad. We procure components for our panels from India as much as we can, but of course for some key components we are still now reliant on China. Overtime we see more and more components in our solar panels coming from India, particularly as the government PLI scheme rolls out and starts to have an impact on installed production of solar cells in India.
All the solar panels that we produce are used in our projects. We do not extensively distribute solar panels. We prefer to sell complete systems. This means our installed production capacity will not be as high as others, but it is highly quality oriented and still highly cost-effective. We are committed to Make in India (and have been since 2017/18), and will keep making our own range of solar panels going forward.
Que: How are the government policies transforming the solar energy landscape in India?
Ans: We see some states taking very positive leadership positions, and supporting more rooftop solar in doing so. For instance, Karnataka over the last two years has allowed for a net metering up to 2 MW. And states like Maharashtra are now looking to extend net-metering to up to 5 MW. By going beyond the Centre’s guidance of 500 KWp for net metering these states are driving forward their solar markets.
Also, the Centre’s ongoing policy of allowing SMEs and the C&I sector to claim 40 percent accelerated depreciation is a key incentive in the rooftop and ground-mounted solar market in India. This is particularly the case when serving SMEs who generally prefer to own their own rooftop solar system rather than take it on a lease model (e.g. PPA).
Que: PM Modi recently announced Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana, a solar roof-top scheme to electrify one crore households with solar energy. According to you, what would be its impact on rural electrification and economic prosperity?
Ans: The PM’s rooftop solar scheme is fantastic. There is no question that residential rooftop solar has lagged C&I solar in India, due to the fact that typically (historically) residential customers have paid less for their grid electricity than commercial and industrial customers. So providing an extra subsidy benefit to a residential customer makes sense – it’s not required for C&I customers.
This scheme has the potential to revolutionize and democratize distributed solar in India, and Orb Energy is also participating in this scheme through its widespread channel partner network. Some of our systems are also reaching rural to semi-urban customers, where we deploy hybrid inverters which allow a customer to not only get the benefit of a reduced power bill from rooftop solar, but the extra reliability of charging a lithium battery with solar. In this way, the PM’s rooftop solar scheme can also benefit the rural market as well.
please contact: contact@energetica-india.net.