It’s a pleasure to present you the driving force behind Solarpro India – Jitendra Pathak, Chief PV Engineer. A highly experienced leader with impeccable work ethic, for a little over a year Jitendra has gathered a team of great engineers to form one of Solarpro’s design hubs. Taking up the challenge of working for a completely different PV market, Jitendra shares more about his journey with us below:

Tell us more about your role in Solarpro
As a Chief PV Engineer at Solarpro India, my functional responsibilities include team management, reviewing project deliverables, such as drawings, layouts, calculations, simulations/reports, and leading technical clarification meetings with clients. Furthermore, my technical responsibilities are to manage preliminary design engineering – preparation of technical proposals for participation in tenders with consistent coordination with the Bidding & Contracting department. The detailed design process involves the preparation of an end to end design and engineering documents for PV power plants for which Solarpro was awarded the EPC execution.

How does an average day on the job look like for you?
Each day starts with a cup of coffee/tea and team catchup. We keep half an hour catchup session to quickly overview the ongoing projects and set our priorities for the day and gear up for the work. We also discuss customer strategies, market overview, and pricing strategies along with new technology considerations. As a Chief PV Engineer, I review and approve all technical documents prepared by the Solarpro India team and lead the communication with clients. Each project is of a different size, configuration, and type. Thus, the workflow is always dynamic and with many learning opportunities.

What’s the most important skill to bring to your position?
At my position, I feel the following skills are very crucial for my own company, and client’s organization growth:

• Ecosystem Collaboration Identifying, navigating, and collaborating with complex external ecosystems, start-ups, partners, suppliers, etc. to e.g. generate value in innovative ways, create thought leadership, or achieve a business goal
• Renewable Energy Strategy for the transition toward new businesses
• Renewable Energy Commercial Optimization – Improvement of the margin per MWH of renewables production by optimizing the commercial position in wholesale markets by leveraging new digital technologies and advanced research

What are the typical challenges you face in your role?
We as a team manage multiple projects which also include pre-bid design engineering. This can sometimes be challenging because all projects vary with respect to size, location, type, and technology, hence the focus gets disseminated between project and pre-bid work. Pre-bid works also can take additional effort as input parameters are not entirely fixed and changes arise, resulting in multiple revisions and variants of the prepared technical deliverables. However, good internal organization and time management allow for keeping track of ongoing tasks.

Why did you choose solar energy? What motivates you to work within the renewable sector?
As we progress towards a sustainable future, Net-zero initiatives and renewable energy become the most critical mechanisms. Being a part of this clean energy transition and supporting locals/clients in this shift to clean technologies like solar energy is itself a big motivation for me. Because at the end of the day it gives me the huge pleasure of giving back to society by offsetting some amount of carbon from solar deployment. For me, solar energy is the most practicable and sustainable solution for everyone as it is cost-competitive and easy to install & operate, with a proper decommissioning plan.

What are your interests outside of work?
It is important to maintain a work-life balance. Apart from my professional aspirations and work life, I spend most of my time with my family and friends. I like to travel and discover new places & cultures as well.

How and when did you start working in Solarpro?
After working 6,5 years in the same company, I wanted to look to other challenging & dynamic roles in the new renewable market that can give me a refreshing moment and I can put my efforts into dimensions. My search ended with Solarpro Holding who offered me a Chief Engineer Role and believed in me to set up their new subsidiary in India Market. Not limited to this, they provided me with new opportunities to work with the EU renewable energy market which was totally new for me and I have decided to accept the challenge and explore the new region. So, I started my journey with Solarpro India in July 2021.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start a job in renewables?
The renewable energy industry has exponential growth potential. Hence, professional who joins the industry have a great career path in an evolving, fast-paced, creative environment. Professionals can witness how the organizations are re-inventing themselves towards sustainability especially merger acquisitions, on-premises plants, corporate procurements etc. Alongside, professionals will have the satisfaction of working for a good cause.