Ahmedabad, 15 January 2013

Welspun Energy Ltd. (WEL) is partnering with Gandhinagar based Gujarat Energy Research & Management Institute (GERMI) for the advancement of solar technology in India. The organization will be setting up a lab at GERMI where different solar technologies will be studied for their performance in Indian terrain and climatic conditions.

The MoU was signed with Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU), during the recently held Vibrant Gujarat’s International Conference for Academic Institutions (ICAI) 2013. WEL has been stressing the need to develop indigenous solar energy research & study facilities. Results of these studies can greatly help IPPs like Welspun Energy in improving performance of their solar power projects.

The organization will also be working closely with students. Welspun Energy will be designing & offering internship programs to students of PDPU’s Solar Program. With WEL’s large solar and wind projects under development, it is expected that students participating in this internship program will be able to witness the entire project development cycle of a clean energy power plant. Skilled manpower in this field is scarce and through such initiatives the organization will be able to help students transform into specialized resources.

Mr. Vineet Mittal, Co-Founder & Managing Director Welspun Energy stated “Solar energy industry in India is still young, with some amount of research carried out in India for standardization & technology selection. However, we need to be ready for the next phase of growth and that calls for a greater focus on research and building relevant skill sets in our young. As an extension to society, we want to support leading institutions in India and foster indigenous capability.”

A student exchange program has also been initiated by WEL with the Singapore Management University. Through the corpus, scholarships will be awarded to PDPU’s select meritorious students to study at Singapore’s leading university.

Simultaneously, Welspun Energy has also committed to making PDPU a green energy institute by commissioning a 25 KW rooftop solar system.

Welspun Energy Ltd., is today India’s biggest developer of clean energy projects. Since inception, the company has been aggressively moving forward in the renewable energy space. India’s leading renewable energy company plans to meet the country’s growing energy needs in an efficient and environment friendly manner. The organization is developing India’s biggest solar energy project of 130 MW (by reverse bidding) in Madhya Pradesh. While it’s 50 MW solar power project in Rajasthan is nearing its completion cycle.

With commissioned solar capacity of 824 MW, Gujarat has established itself as the solar state of the country. High irradiation levels in the state offers an ample opportunity to establish solar energy research institutes. Promoted by Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC), PDPU offers energy education and research. Its School of Solar Energy offers MTech and PHD in the field of solar engineering.