For those of us who rely on it daily, a world without electricity is almost beyond comprehension. But in India, 300 million people lack reliable access to electricity.
“Electricity is like drinking water today; it creates a massive social impact,” Resonia CEO Prashant Sinha tells The CEO Magazine. “The difference in quality of life with electricity and without electricity is massive.”
A nation on a sharp growth trajectory, India is on a mission to build an energy network that reliably and sustainably serves all of its 1.47 billion people. The Indian government recognizes that only futuristic technologies can achieve this and has set bold objectives.
“India is witnessing a huge growth in renewables,” Sinha confirms. “The first target is to reach 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, and then the entire net zero shift has to happen by 2070. Therefore, the whole energy mix has to undergo a revolutionary change.”
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Significant challenges loom, but perhaps the most pressing one lies in an unexpected area.
“To achieve these targets, it’s not the power generation that is on a critical path – it is the transmission lines,” Sinha explains. “Setting up a generating station takes 18–20 months. But doing a inter/intrastate transmission line of 300–500 kilometers takes at least 30–36 months.
“So there’s an inherent mismatch between the timeline in which generation and transition can be achieved.”
Grid upgrades
On hand to tackle this problem are Sinha and Resonia, a leading Indian developer of grid infrastructure with a speciality in large-scale, high-voltage renewable energy integration.
“We have positioned ourselves as a company that will focus on transmission so that we can solve this problem of renewable evacuation, the time delays and the corridor creation,” he says.
“We’ve developed about US$8.12 billion worth of projects across Brazil and India – 12 projects in Brazil and 25 projects in India. The strategy is very clear: pick up the right projects and then execute them on time and within budget so that we actually solve the toughest challenges of energy transportation.”
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Resonia has been involved in many influential projects that have recently upgraded Indian energy access and reliability. Its headline achievements have included the Mumbai Urja Marg – a transmission project that has solved the city’s power outage challenges – as well as a duo of projects that have addressed power outages in the state of Goa. It has also implemented Gujarat’s largest green energy corridor from Lakadia to Vadodara.
“Now we are constructing parallel transmission lines in Rajasthan that connect Fatehgarh to Beawar, spanning a total distance of 736 kilometers,” he says.
“The whole sector is a pretty challenging and very interesting space. Personally, I love to take up something that creates a huge impact on the people around us.
“And containing climate change, however we can, is something that motivates all of us and me personally, that we can bring in clean energy to places like Gurgaon, Mumbai and Goa.”
Fueling self-reliance
Sinha highlights two significant factors that are driving the development of India’s energy sector. The first is a desire for energy independence, driven by the Modi administration’s policy framework Atmanirbhar Bharat – a self-reliant India.
“As a country, we import almost US$137 billion of oil every year. If we can produce this energy within the country, then that is a massive step toward Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he says.
The second is the imperative to shift to renewable energy, driven by climate change and finite fossil fuel reserves.
“As a country, we emit about 4.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases annually. If we have to make a real reduction to these numbers, then the best way is to start using EVs,” Sinha says.
“Emissions come from three sources: coal-based thermal plants, the commercial and industrial sector and the transport sector. To decarbonize all three of them, the generation and transmission of clean energy is the key. You can’t have a successful energy transition without successful transmission.”
The government has recognized this, Sinha says, and has planned investments of around US$98 billion in the Indian transmission sector by 2032. And in collaboration with firms such as Resonia, it is shifting the bulk of the grid’s power transportation away from alternating current to the more efficient, higher-capacity direct current.
Sinha cites an ongoing challenge as the fluctuating output of renewable energy sources.
“Grid stability is something that has to be very closely monitored and controlled now because renewables inherently do not have any momentum with them. They can go off the grid very fast and they can come in very fast,” he points out.
“New technologies have to be implemented to make this happen.”
Clean goals
In addition to its overarching aim of fulfilling national energy priorities, Resonia has ambitious growth targets of its own.
“Today we have about US$4.2 billion of assets under operations or construction,” Sinha reveals. “Our ambition is to take it to at least US$10.2 billion over the next four or five years.
“But at the same time, this has to be a responsible expansion focused on green energy transmission. We focus on picking up projects that have a direct impact on the climate while providing indigenous sources of energy.”
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A fundamental pillar of its mission to achieve this lofty goal is a commitment to selecting and maintaining mutually beneficial partnerships, like those with key partners, including MPower Infratech India and Telegence Powercomm.
“A massive focus is on having top-class partners with you all the time. We have some of the best of India’s engineering, procurement and construction teams working with us,” Sinha says.
For those working closely with the company, that focus translates into a shared sense of purpose. Vishal Jodhani, AVP, CEO’s Office, describes the experience as being “part of something bigger than yourself,” pointing to swift decision-making and a strong emphasis on shared ambition, even amid the demands of extensive travel and rapid expansion.
“Our focus has been to complete projects that carry green power, and that itself is a big motivator for us every morning,” Sinha reflects.
“As our core purpose as a company is empowering humanity by addressing the toughest challenge of clean energy delivery, this is also a very powerful motivator.”
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