Lauritz Knudsen Electrical and Automation, part of French multinational Schneider Electric, is building an end-to-end ecosystem for solar power projects in India’s tier-II and tier-III cities, betting that the next phase of the country’s clean energy expansion will come from smaller towns rather than metros.
Schneider Electric acquired L&T Electrical & Automation (formerly L&T Switchgear) for about ₹14,000 crore in 2020 and subsequently rebranded the business as Lauritz Knudsen.
The company is investing in data management, product development, service capabilities, workforce training and safety to support the rapid expansion of distributed solar projects, particularly under government-backed schemes, Naresh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer at Lauritz Knudsen, told Financial Express.
“We are creating the entire ecosystem around solar projects. Today, over 2,500 projects are running across the country, but maintaining them requires specialised skills. Many people are still unfamiliar with solar generation and maintenance,” Kumar said.
Driving Local Skills
To address the shortage of trained technicians, the company has set up six training centres across the country. Kumar said rooftop solar installations under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana are growing faster in tier-II and tier-III cities than in metropolitan areas, making local skill development critical.
The ₹75,000-crore PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana aims to provide rooftop solar systems to one crore households.
With most installations located in smaller towns and remote areas, Lauritz Knudsen has developed a centralised monitoring system that tracks project performance from regional hubs or its headquarters.
“Because we have worked in agricultural and rural markets for nearly 17 years, we understand these geographies well. That has helped us develop products, solutions and data management systems suited to local conditions,” Kumar said.
Tailoring Hardware
He said product design is being tailored to different operating environments. For example, equipment installed outdoors in desert regions must withstand extreme temperature variations, unlike systems deployed in climate-controlled industrial facilities.
“The products may remain broadly similar, but the solutions are different. A panel designed for an air-conditioned environment cannot be deployed in harsh outdoor conditions without modifications,” he said.
The company is also focusing on improving after-sales service in smaller towns by ensuring quicker replacement of faulty equipment and easier maintenance.
According to Kumar, operating in remote locations is helping Lauritz Knudsen gain practical insights into safety, servicing, equipment replacement and data management that can also be applied in large urban projects.
“We are learning from real-world applications in the field. That experience gives us a competitive advantage even in tier-I cities,” he said.
The company has so far enabled around 50 GW of solar installations and aims to double that to 100 GW.
Kumar said Lauritz Knudsen sees significant growth opportunities in utility-scale and decentralised solar projects driven by the PM Kusum Yojana, the PM Surya Ghar scheme and the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, where it supplies electrical equipment.
Another major opportunity, he said, is the domestic manufacturing ecosystem being created under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) framework.
“As India expands manufacturing of solar modules, cells, ingots and wafers, demand for electrical equipment will increase sharply. With the solar market growing at around 36% CAGR, we see substantial opportunities across the generation value chain,” Kumar said.
Under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s ALMM framework, eligible solar projects must source modules and cells only from manufacturers approved by the government, boosting domestic manufacturing and supply chains.