It was during 2013 when Durgesh Maru was studying at the business school in France. Durgesh and his brother Lokesh had participated in a business plan competition with the idea to provide Solar Power as a Service. While preparing the plan, the duo came across the real picture and was overwhelmed by the socio-economic potential of solar power in India. They made up their mind to venture into this space after their graduation. Further Durgesh went to study at the University of California, Berkeley for the Technology Entrepreneurship program. In 2015, the net-metering policy was introduced in Maharashtra and this golden opportunity fuelled Durgesh to get back to the country and set up SunInfra Energies.

Since then, it has been an exciting journey with a fair share of ups and downs. Throwing light on the same Durgesh speaks, “At the beginning, due to less awareness of the technology, the cost of customer acquisition was quite high. We took an average of 4-6 months and a number of meetings to close a deal. We have bootstrapped all the while and went on to bag one project after

the other mostly through references and word of mouth. Our integrity and commitment to quality has seen us sail through quite well and develop a great portfolio and a strong pipeline of projects across various sectors in Western India.”

"Till date, team SunInfra has executed more than 50 projects for industrial and commercial consumers across Western India"

SunInfra Energies specializes in the execution of Rooftop Solar Power plants for the Industrial & Commercial sectors. It is among very few companies that that have end-to-end in house capabilities to build customized solar powered plant assisting its clients at every step. “This approach is helping the power consumers especially the SMEs across different industry verticals make a hassle free transition to solar,” says Durgesh. SunInfra Energies primarily targets the SMEs who are quick adopters of new technologies and offers customized, competitive, global yet localized solutions to them.

With a rooftop only focus, the Company understands the space much better than others and offers solutions that are best-fit and competitive. “We are able to anticipate the challenges pretty well and plan flawless execution. Further, we offer project financing solutions that suit the needs of our clients. Some of these financing models are CAPEX (Up Front Investment), OPEX (Pay per Unit) and Lease,” he mentions.

With a close pack team, the company has created a continued

learning environment. “Every site and project is unique, so we make sure to organize frequent reunions so that the team interacts with each other well and shares and learns from the challenges and experiences each have had,” he informs. Further to cater to the growing need of skilled workforce, the company offers internships and recruits and trains engineers who have undergone the 'Suryamitra' program of MNRE, Government of India.

Since the first year of its inception, the company has had an exponential growth. Till date, team SunInfra has executed more than 50 projects for industrial and commercial consumers across western India and boasts of a team of 18 full time members across its offices in the state. The company is affiliated with Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Indo-French Chamber of Commerce & Industries, CREDAI, Maharashtra Energy Development Agency(MEDA),etc. and has received number of Awards for its excellence in the field. “We also work closely with leading project developers and policy makers to ensure we stay on course with their vision of the sector,” adds Durgesh.

Going ahead, the company is directing its efforts towards integration of energy storage systems with its rooftop solar offerings and also targeting small scale and MSME customers on the OPEX side. “We are continually researching and experimenting with the available options for our target customer segment,” he concludes.