Case Study: VIT India
Vellore Institute of Technology, 700 KWp Rooftop Solar PV, Amaravati, Andhra pradesh, India
In India, PPA’s are a popular choice when procuring power from solar projects. Many of these contracts, however, are lengthy and intimidating, often exceeding 100 pages in length. At candi, we believe that solar can be simple and that it is possible to have a “less is more” approach, even when it comes to drafting contracts. Our agreements are to the point and aimed at making the change to solar power as efficient as possible.
Project Background
Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is one of India's most reputable educational institutions, offering quality higher education that is comparable on the international stage. To power its classrooms and student accommodation at their VIT-AP campus in Amaravati, VIT relies on solar power.
The University was interested in expanding their on-site green energy production as a means of investing in the future of the institution. The idea was to reduce long-term energy costs and use the solar power system as a showcase and learning opportunity for its students. VIT-AP wanted to increase their solar power generation capacity from 234 kWp to 934 kWp.
Solar power agreement contracts in India are often quite long, which can take time to read, understand, negotiate and approve - and therefore delay installation. VIT required a simpler solar journey in augmenting their existing solar power system and thus reached out to candi for assistance. An additional challenge was that this customer needed to have a system installed in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vellore Institute of Technology, 700 KWp Rooftop Solar PV, Amaravati, Andhra pradesh, India
candi solar’s Solution
candi’s contracts include all necessary information in a concise and accessible manner. Each contract is reviewed in detail to ensure a high quality agreement that is in line with fundamental requirements. Structuring Lead at candi, Bruno Rauis explains that, “we are all about simplifying contracts. We take a knife to the long wordy clauses and only focus on what is really important for both parties. The agreements are just as solid, they have been vetted by several law firms during intensive due diligence processes.”
Due to candi’s agreement structure where customers only pay for the energy the system produces, contracts must be appropriately set up to protect the customer and hold candi to their commitment to provide a working system. “We take a very pragmatic approach with every contract. We have to, because there is a risk alignment between us and the client; if the system doesn’t work, we’re both stuck,” says Rauis. Compared to the typical 100+ page long PPA’s in India, candi offered VIT a 17 page document for a 13 year (156 months) period.
Results
The complete process with VIT from first engagement to LOI (letter of intent) signing took only 3 months (contract signing took one additional month). Despite travel restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was seamlessly liaised via video calls. candi only met with the VIT team physically after the site was completed. This means the full scope of the project from initial discussions to systems live was done remotely, without hindering the efficiency of the project.
“The candi solar team has shown a very professional approach since the beginning of the project from the proposal stage to the commissioning of the project,” says A. Chitti Babu, Campus Engineer-VIT-AP. During the process, candi fostered a good relationship with the partner EPC for the project, AVO. “It was a marvellous experience working with candi. We got help from the candi team in every aspect of the process. We look forward to working with candi in future,” added Suman Shil, Senior Manager-Projects at AVO.
candi wants to harness the growing possibilities for businesses and institutions the world over to generate their own power by facilitating an uncomplicated investment process. Our simplified contracts are a key factor to this mission and have proven to be a successful driver of simplifying solar. If your business is investigating switching to solar and would like to know more about how candi can streamline the process, contact us.
