Having worked for more than 15 years in the renewable energy space, mainly in wind, K.V. Sajay has rich on-the-ground industry experience. A mechanical engineer by training, his expertise lies not only in sales, marketing and business development but also in plant engineering, design, project development and management. He has worked in different capacities with companies such as ITW India, Vestas Wind Technology and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.
While a majority of his career has been spent on the OEM side, he recently shifted to the developer side of the business, joining Hero Future Energies. He currently heads the wind and solar power business verticals along with regulatory affairs, and is responsible for all aspects of project development, barring project operations.
Although he has been a part of many exciting wind power projects through the length of his career, Sajay is especially proud of a repowering project undertaken in Tamil Nadu about eight years ago. This was the first repowering wind power project in India and included the replacement of eight 300 kW and two 500 kW turbines with four 850 kW turbines. He also feels fortunate to have been a part of both sides of the first commercial solar-wind hybrid project in India, being developed by Hero Future Energies. For this project, he was initially involved in the conceptualisation and construction phase while working with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and now, in his current role, is witnessing its actual operations at Hero Future Energies.
A firm advocate of renewable energy, Sajay however feels the sector is constrained by various issues. According to him, the solar power segment faces challenges such as land unavailability and lengthy approvals, which cause unnecessary delays and impact the financial viability of projects. The challenges are more complicated in wind. “The blockage of prime wind energy sites by certain players is a serious issue that is hampering the growth of the segment. The government needs to intervene urgently, so that this national resource can be used to the fullest.”
Sajay loves travelling to new places. Having lived in southern India for much of his life, he is now enjoying exploring the north, especially the Himalayan region. In the future, he hopes to write a book about the country’s renewable energy journey and, perhaps, even write the screenplay for a movie on this subject.