EQ in Exclusive Conversation With Mr Prerak Thekadi, Category Lead- Techno Commercial – Adani Green Energy Limited

In a special talk with EQ, Mr Prerak Thekadi, Category Lead- Techno Commercial at Adani Green Energy Limited, shared his journey and talks about the future scenario of design and engineering, best procurement practices, upcoming technologies and more.

1. You have more than 16 years of experience. We would like to know about your journey to Category Lead at Adani Green Energy Limited?

Formerly, I have worked with CLP Power India Private Limited for 5 years and joined Adani in 2010. At Adani, I worked as lead Estimator for Thermal projects at initial phase and further performed lead role in Business Transformation of Procurement process for Adani group companies.

Currently, I am the Category Lead- Techno Commercial at Adani Green energy Limited, responsible for Module procurement, MMS Steel, Tracker, Merger and Acquisition and more. I had also lead the Construction Services for Adani Green with handling about 35 parallel projects without EPC. Also played instrumental role in onboarding new technologies i.e. Tracker in 2016, POSMAC in 2017, Mono Perc in 2019 and Bifacial with Tracker in 2020 at utility scale.

2. What are the present and future scenarios of design engineering and procurement?

The Design of Solar Project would be dependent on Module Wp, size and technology. Design shall be prepared considering Modules, Inverter, structure and its complete plant design which can help to optimise LCOE i.e. Bifacial with Tracker. Higher Wp modules with sustainable quality will govern the market. We expect battery storage to play a key role for Renewable energy in coming days.

Standardization of Module size is the requirement of the Solar Industry and it is required to be taken up with the major module manufacturers by all the developers. Additional technology like Floating Solar, Hydrogen is a fast-emerging market. As far as procurement point of view, because of Covid 19 Pandemic for more than 1.5 years, the market is yet to stabilize and for any prediction, we have to wait till the condition improves.

3. What are the global practices of Sourcing and Procurement & Supply Chain Management, etc.?

The transparent system, adoption to emerging technology, sustainable supplier base and long-term relationship with key suppliers are the major factors that will govern procurement strategy in future.

4. Working as the Category Lead, how much Solar Panel (Modules), Structure Steel, Tracker, Robotic Cleaning, etc. have you procured to date for Adani Renewable Business?

We have procured close to around 3.5 GW modules, more than 1.2 Lacs MT of Structure steel and more than 2 GWp of Solar tracker system. Also, have done contracting for 35 parallel projects.

5. What are your goals and objectives for the near future? What are the expectations for this year and next year?

The goal is to align with the Vision of the Organization to achieve 25 GW by 2025 and align with the Government of India’s vision towards the Make in India concept.

We expect work-friendly scenarios across the globe which can build up momentum in renewable and other sectors

6. Enlighten us on the current trends and upcoming technology in Module & Robotic Cleaning.

Looking at the higher module efficiency and push by leading module manufacturers, it is expected that “N type” modules will gradually become mainstream.

Considering environmental aspects, robotic cleaning is a sustainable solution for the maintenance of the plant.

7. Please tell us about the major sourcing and procurement challenges, and what solution do you suggest?

Increase in module price along with logistics disruption is a major challenge for project viability.

Import module from China is also a major challenge nowadays because of fluctuation in raw material price, demand-supply scenario and logistics challenges. The increase in commodity price, i.e. Steel, copper, plastic, etc. is also a challenge.

I suggest that advance planning & procurement with just-in-time decision making (Decision on Module and steel procurement during dynamic market), right technology product, visibility of world logistics scenario and Logistics management according to the situation and product performance along with warranty management.

8. Conference of Asia awarded you as ‘Outstanding Procurement Future Leader’ in the Winner Category. Please tell us about it and also share some other achievements.

Conference Asia is a platform that works for better practice of Procurement across Asia. They organize award seminar once a year. Since 2013, I have participated in this award seminars. I have been nominated twice – in 2015 I won the title and in 2018 I was the first runner-up.

This award is organized across the industry. The candidate required to represent their procurement practice, technology advancement, team management, best practices, IT platform utilization, vendor base management and their contribution in procurement by showing some case studies of their work.

9. What are the best procurement practices to improve performance in the renewable power business?

• Procurement shall be moved from cost centric approach to long term sustainable approach
• Transparency in procurement with Total Cost of Ownership concept.
• Maximum weightage shall be given to Make in India

10. How do you see the transformation of India’s Energy Sector?

India’s energy sector has been transformed from Thermal to Renewable energy, which has been initiated from Solar and Wind energy sources. In future, it is expected that renewable source of energy will be the main source of Energy with Solar, Wind, Hydrogen & energy storage playing key role in the replacement of Thermal energy.