Ishan Nagpal, lead, policy and regulatory, ReNew Power, has expertise in policy advocacy, regulatory affairs and business development in the renewable energy space. He has been working on new initiatives such as hydrogen, storage and distribution, in collaboration with different stakeholders. Nagpal joined ReNew Power in 2015. In the initial years, he was part of the solar team, where his role entailed coordinating activities between different departments. Approximately 300-400 MW of solar capacity was built during his tenure in the team. Prior to ReNew Power, Nagpal worked as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers as a part of its government reforms and infrastructure development advisory vertical.
ReNew Power has been actively working on new and innovative clean energy projects in recent months. At present, the company has the largest storage pipeline in the country. “We are working on things that are fresh and exciting. For instance, a recent tender for a 400 MW renewable energy project, which required 80 per cent of the electricity to be generated using only renewable sources, was won by the company. Green hydrogen is also coming up and will help India in its green energy transition. Providing advocacy strategies in these areas is exciting,” he says.
According to Nagpal, indigenisation of equipment and module manufacturing must be a key priority for the sector. “Almost 90 per cent of the solar modules are being imported at present. And despite the large domestic base for the wind segment, there is scope for further improvement. Battery storage is also largely dependent on imports. The call for Atmanirbhar Bharat thus makes significant sense for the renewable industry,” he says.
Nagpal’s management style has evolved over the years. He believes in working together as a group to drive a consensus and determine solutions that help national goals and the grid at large. “Advocacy involves working with stakeholders across the spectrum. Since every stakeholder is focused on a common goal of building capacity, advocacy involves a lot of collective work,” he says. As an organisation, ReNew Power aims to incorporate pioneering technologies and augment its renewable energy capacity. Nagpal is excited to be an active part of this energy transition. He believes he too has grown along with the organisation.
A big part of Nagpal’s spare time goes into cooking and gardening. He also enjoys reading books on management and self-help.