Ashwary Sharma is head of the policy and regulatory department at the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI). He started his career as a cluster engineer at the Ramboll Group in 2008, and later moved to VS Enviortech as assistant manager. In the past, he has also worked at Vibgyor Energy as assistant manager, CleanMax as manager, regulatory and electricity board relations, and ABPS Infrastructure Advisory in the distribution tariff domain. At BEE Electric Private Limited, he was involved in the power regulatory and policy, C&I open access strategy and group captive domains.
NSEFI is a young and dynamic organisation representing renewable energy companies across the solar photovoltaic value chain, including project developers, manufacturers, engineering companies, financing institutions and other stakeholders. “I get the opportunity to interact and deliberate on issues and agendas with various organisations and government agencies, which makes my day-to-day work exciting. I also get a chance to learn about new developments in the solar power sector,” he says.
According to Sharma, land acquisition is one of the key challenges for renewable energy developers as no single farmer has adequate land for a large utility-scale project. Acquiring land from multiple farmers makes land acquisition a very complicated process. The limited availability of transmission facilities at the nearest substation also poses a challenge.
In addition, developers face issues pertaining to regulatory uncertainty owing to frequent amendments to policies and regulations, which discourages investment. While policymakers understand that certain sectors in the power supply chain require regulatory support, all sectors across the supply chain are directly or indirectly linked. Therefore, any incentive or benefit to promote a particular sector may adversely impact others financially or operationally.
According to Sharma, government schemes for the decentralised segment, such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan, have huge potential for the development of rural India. He looks to be more actively involved in such decentralised schemes in the future.
Sharma holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA in power management. During his leisure time, he enjoys adventure trips like mountain trekking, which rejuvenate him and increase his energy levels.