Manikkan S: Delivering Renewable Energy Solutions Powered By Innovation
Manikkan S.
Executive Director & CEO
The dynamic leader has held executive leadership positions at ICICI Venture, Babcock & Brown, ABN AMRO, and UBS Warburg and worked on large transactions for private, public and Government sectors. Manikkan has an exceptional capability of taking strategic decisions, motivating teams leading through example and passionately driving the whole organization towards a common goal. For his unrivalled knowledge and skills, he has been recognized as the Most Powerful Solar Business Leader in the Indian PV market by Solar Quarter consecutively for two years in 2021 and 2022. Let's hear it from him.
Tell us about the journey of Radiance Renewables.
We started Radiance Renewables in August 2019 with two clear goals in mind a) to carry out initial acquisitions to set up a base and b) to build Greenfield Projects for our customers. Being a green business, Radiance is focused on supplying renewable energy and power to customers in the industrial, corporate, and commercial sectors largely based on the OPEX model (Operating expense based model with minimal or no Capital expenditure).
So far, our focus has largely been on solar projects, but we are also looking at solar wind hybrid projects as well. I must say, it has truly been a remarkable journey till date. We started from the ground up and are now on the cusp of crossing around 450 megawatts projects by the end of this financial year.
Where is the company positioned and what makes it unique?
Radiance is a very customer centric organization held by four key pillars Vibrancy, Sustainable, Reliability, and Eco Enabling.
By prioritizing on understanding our customer requirements, we focus on plant sizing and optimized
renewable energy mix based on technology regulatory and policy considerations while adapting to the individual needs of our customers.
Radiance is focused on serving customers in the Commercial and Industrial ('CNI') segment and has emerged as among the fastest growing top five players in the CNI market.
Secondly, we are largely focused on CNI projects and do not under take utility projects. Today, we are among the top five players in the CNI market and I believe we are well poised to achieve our ambition of two GW in in the next three years.
Elaborate about the technology framework built within the company's solutions and the technology trends that the company is planning to adopt.
Being a technology agnostic company, we are always looking to adopt the latest technology to increase customer satisfaction When we started off, we predominantly concentrated on solar projects since it provided a better value proposition to our customers.
But now, with the increasing requirement for larger penetration of a combination of solar and wind projects, we are looking to embrace both technologies and provide wind-solar hybrid projects. Along with the solar market gearing up for more efficient solar modules, and wind energy projects moving towards higher capacity turbines, opportunities are being created for providing affordable hybrid solutions with larger renewable energy penetration. With the Ministry of Power announcing a waiver of transmission charges for projects connected to the CTU (Central Transmission Utility), size able opportunities have emerged to set up CNI plants that can meet customer requirements across states through the supply of power vide an ISTS (Interstate Transmission System).
To make our process and work efficient, Radiance has adopted Industry 4.0 by leveraging digital for competitiveness through the implementation of a fully automated end-to-end ERP solution and have built advanced analytical tools/platform to improve plant performance through active asset management. In addition, we ensure strong governance and compliance through automated tools.
We have also implemented semi automated Robotic Cleaning at our plant sites and have achieved a reduction of almost 20 percent in O& M cost while gaining more than two percent in Generation.
Radiance is focused on serving customers in the Commercial and Industrial ('CNI') segment and has emerged as among the fastest growing top five players in the CNI market.
Secondly, we are largely focused on CNI projects and do not under take utility projects. Today, we are among the top five players in the CNI market and I believe we are well poised to achieve our ambition of two GW in in the next three years.
We are among the top five players in the CNI market and I believe, we are well poised to achieve our ambition of two GW in the next three years
Elaborate about the technology framework built within the company's solutions and the technology trends that the company is planning to adopt.
Being a technology agnostic company, we are always looking to adopt the latest technology to increase customer satisfaction When we started off, we predominantly concentrated on solar projects since it provided a better value proposition to our customers.
But now, with the increasing requirement for larger penetration of a combination of solar and wind projects, we are looking to embrace both technologies and provide wind-solar hybrid projects. Along with the solar market gearing up for more efficient solar modules, and wind energy projects moving towards higher capacity turbines, opportunities are being created for providing affordable hybrid solutions with larger renewable energy penetration. With the Ministry of Power announcing a waiver of transmission charges for projects connected to the CTU (Central Transmission Utility), size able opportunities have emerged to set up CNI plants that can meet customer requirements across states through the supply of power vide an ISTS (Interstate Transmission System).
To make our process and work efficient, Radiance has adopted Industry 4.0 by leveraging digital for competitiveness through the implementation of a fully automated end-to-end ERP solution and have built advanced analytical tools/platform to improve plant performance through active asset management. In addition, we ensure strong governance and compliance through automated tools.
We have also implemented semi automated Robotic Cleaning at our plant sites and have achieved a reduction of almost 20 percent in O& M cost while gaining more than two percent in Generation.
Tell us about Radiance Renewables' carbon avoidance approach, and how it helps in facilitating sustainable growth.
Radiance is a portfolio company of the Green Growth Equity Fund managed by Ever Source Capital. Radiance goal is to help decarbonize energy sector and help its commercial and industrial off takers reduce their respective GHG footprints while contributing to the global mandate of limiting temperature rise to 1.50C. Radiance not only generates clean green power which contributes to the government's net zero ambitions but creates ESG compliant sustainable green power that also enables commercial and industrial off-takers to meet their ESG commitments. We have a high level of ESG focus and promote a culture of health and safety environmentally within our organization. This essentially means that reducing the carbon footprint and being environment friendly across our projects is part of Radiance DNA.
For example, we use dry robotic cleaning to avoid water consumption for cleaning modules, which enables us to be mindful about the amount of water resources available for local communities.
We are also aware of the ESG (`Environmental, Social, and Governance') constraints while evaluating projects, and project sites are selected only after considering the impact of the project on the environmental and social setup for the communities in the project vicinity.
Radiance has won a National Level HSE Award under the Medium Enterprises category in the Renewable Energy Sector, in the 9th Global Safety Summit Awards on March 2022 and an award for HSE in the World Safety forum in March 2021.
Lastly, how do you keep your team motivated to perform activities effectively and ensure client satisfaction?
We believe in a lean organizational structure that is based on empowerment. Although every member of our team comes with a unique set of skills, their motivation is their freedom to operate as a family. People at Radiance are encouraged to express themselves and take ownership for their ideas, which in turn provides a lot of clarity and makes them aware of their responsibilities, accountability, and what they need to do to drive initiatives across the organization.
The value and impact of working as a team is testament to how quickly the organization has grown, in a short span of time.
Manikkan S, Executive Director & CEO, Radiance Renewables
Having a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering, a Master's in Management Studies, and an M.Sc in Business Economics, Manikkan has unmatched leadership experiences in multiple organizations across various verticals.
Radiance is a portfolio company of the Green Growth Equity Fund managed by Ever Source Capital. Radiance goal is to help decarbonize energy sector and help its commercial and industrial off takers reduce their respective GHG footprints while contributing to the global mandate of limiting temperature rise to 1.50C. Radiance not only generates clean green power which contributes to the government's net zero ambitions but creates ESG compliant sustainable green power that also enables commercial and industrial off-takers to meet their ESG commitments. We have a high level of ESG focus and promote a culture of health and safety environmentally within our organization. This essentially means that reducing the carbon footprint and being environment friendly across our projects is part of Radiance DNA.
For example, we use dry robotic cleaning to avoid water consumption for cleaning modules, which enables us to be mindful about the amount of water resources available for local communities.
We are also aware of the ESG (`Environmental, Social, and Governance') constraints while evaluating projects, and project sites are selected only after considering the impact of the project on the environmental and social setup for the communities in the project vicinity.
Radiance has won a National Level HSE Award under the Medium Enterprises category in the Renewable Energy Sector, in the 9th Global Safety Summit Awards on March 2022 and an award for HSE in the World Safety forum in March 2021.
Lastly, how do you keep your team motivated to perform activities effectively and ensure client satisfaction?
We believe in a lean organizational structure that is based on empowerment. Although every member of our team comes with a unique set of skills, their motivation is their freedom to operate as a family. People at Radiance are encouraged to express themselves and take ownership for their ideas, which in turn provides a lot of clarity and makes them aware of their responsibilities, accountability, and what they need to do to drive initiatives across the organization.
The value and impact of working as a team is testament to how quickly the organization has grown, in a short span of time.
Manikkan S, Executive Director & CEO, Radiance Renewables
Having a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering, a Master's in Management Studies, and an M.Sc in Business Economics, Manikkan has unmatched leadership experiences in multiple organizations across various verticals.