Chief Executive and Managing Director of Hitachi Energy India Ltd. Venu said India must increase the pace of transmission work by two-three times to meet its ambitious goals, especially setting up high voltage direct current (HVDC) corridors. an interview. Venu’s comments assume significance as the Center is working on a roadmap to boost the power transmission sector to install 500 GW of green power by 2030. Hitachi works on HVDC projects in India. Edited excerpts:
Keeping in mind the renewable energy target of the Center by 2030, what is your view on upgrading the grid?
Renewables are intermittent in nature but are available in abundance in most parts of India. You can benefit by converting renewable sources to produce and then transmit the power effectively. 500 GW by 2030 is an ambitious target. To achieve this we should do 2-2.5 times more than what we are doing now from a holistic approach for both generation and transition. We have also been talking about HVDC projects. Earlier, we used to set up an HVDC project every five years. Now, on average, we see one VDC project every two years. We should have more HVDC projects as part of the ambitions for renewable generation and transmission targets. Transmission is the backbone of the government’s strategy; Without transmission you will not be able to accomplish this; It also includes several HVDC transmission corridors, which will transport bulk energy over long distances from production areas to demand centres. The initiatives are creating massive opportunities for various companies including Hitachi Energy.
With concerns of a global recession, what’s the outlook for Hitachi Energy’s growth and what will be the drivers of that growth?
Interest rates have risen across the world including India. We have managed the interest rates in India very well. We want 50% of India’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2030, and the Center has announced a transmission plan to achieve this. So, the demand drivers are very strong. Hitachi Energy is very confident on long-term growth from renewable energy, transmission, and high-growth segments such as data centers and data storage. America or Europe. We are not untouchable, it will definitely affect us. Hitachi Energy’s investment strategy and expansion strategy take into account long-term demand drivers.
What are your expansion plans for India?
We are constantly monitoring our product portfolio and also keeping an eye on the demand. Now our target is to increase the export to 25% of what we produce here. We have identified several markets across the globe and are also looking at the demand arising from various initiatives here.
You have a presence in data centers in India. what are your plans?
India’s data center market is one of the growth drivers primarily driven by data privacy legislation and the large amount of data generated, and how it is stored. We deal in hyperscale data centers and expect to scale up from 870 MW to 1,700-1,800 MW by FY25.
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