Aggreko, the world’s largest power rental company, started its operations in India in 2009. Ever since, Aggreko has steadily gained acceptance and is today the market leader. In this exclusive interview, we have Shobhit Taneja, Country Manager – India, Aggreko, tracing Aggreko’s journey in India, and discussing the company’s future plans for the subcontinent. Taneja also explains how Aggreko is consciously keeping a low carbon footprint, thanks to use of renewable energy sources, energy storage and by ensuring that its generators perform at efficiency levels well above industry standards. An interview by Venugopal Pillai.
Let us start by understanding the services offered by Aggreko in India, in the power generation rental line of business.
Aggreko is the world’s largest power hire solutions company, providing temporary power, battery storage, load-testing, transformers and associated power ancillaries to meet the growing demands of India’s industries. Our technical expertise and turnkey capabilities means our team in India is able to offer a comprehensive solution, including technical design, deployment, commissioning, operations and maintenance.
What are the various fuels used? We understand that Aggreko also employs solar-hybrid solutions. Tell us more.
Aggreko is able to deploy different fuel-based generators to suit the individual project requirements, including diesel, HFO and gas. We work with a number of gas types, including natural gas, CNG, LNG, LPG, biogas and associated petroleum gas (flare gas). Additionally, in order to help move towards a lower carbon future, some of Aggreko’s equipment has been retrofitted to run on greener fuels, including biodiesel and hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO).
We also employ solar-hybrid solutions, which uses a mix of solar and thermal-based generation fuel to power facilities or operations. Thermal generation offers power reliability, which is often difficult to achieve due to the intermittent nature of solar power.
Battery storage can also be integrated for varying applications, including spinning reserve displacement, peak shaving and ramp rate control. Our solar-hybrid solution is ideal for powering off-grid communities, as well as for mining, data centres and utility operations.
“We ensure that our generators run at market-leading levels of efficiency, reducing the impact on the environment and producing 14 per cent more power than standard generator engines.”
Despite using fossil fuels (e.g. HFO), how do you still ensure that the power generation process has minimum pollution?
The extensive suite of power equipment with varying specifications available within Aggreko’s fleet enables us to offer integrated solutions which include cleaner fuels. Battery storage, for example, can be integrated into existing operations where additional generators are required, increasing the overall efficiency of the plant by running fewer generators at a higher load. In turn, this helps reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
The other key factor to consider is power efficiency. Equipment that runs at lower efficiency usually burns more fuel, consequently producing more emissions. A generator’s efficiency is also dependent equipment’s age and maintenance.
Aggreko’s fleet goes through a robust set of maintenance SOP after every project. This ensures that its generators run at market-leading levels of efficiency, reducing the impact on the environment and producing 14 per cent more power at 12 per cent lower cost per MW than standard generator engines.
Additionally, through robust technical design, power solutions can be designed to offer maximum power efficiency, resulting in fuel utilisation savings.
Aggreko, as we understand, is also providing energy-storage solutions. Tell us more. Do you have such projects in India?
Aggreko launched its temporary hire energy storage product back in 2018. This gives customers the flexibility to pilot and integrate new technologies onto their existing power set-up without the need to invest in heavy capital expenditure. We are currently in discussions with a number of prospective customers to use our energy-storage solutions, and hope to finalise these soon.
“We are currently evaluating the options of setting up a full-fledged depot in eastern India.”
Providing 5-mw of utility power to Andaman & Nicobar Islands was a commendable achievement. Please describe the project and the social outcome.
Back in 2017, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands experienced frequent power shortages, due to insufficient power capacity and ageing of existing generation assets. Subsequently, in 2018, the Government floated a tender through NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) for the supply of 5 mw power to the 33kV grid within 30 days.
We were selected to support the project, thanks to its competitive commercial terms, track record in deploying multi-mw utility power generation projects globally and commitment to execute the project in the stipulated 30-day period.
We successfully delivered the project for the entire three-year contract period with zero accidents. In addition, we surpassed 1,000 Lost Time Injury (LTI)-free days in February 2021. Following the success of the project, we have secured another one-year extension, where it will continue to provide reliable power to the community until April 2022.
We understand that Aggreko India has four generator depots in India. Tell us more.
Yes, we opened our operations in India in 2009 and have since established three depots, which are strategically located at Delhi NCR region, Pune and Chennai. Each depot can offer the complete Aggreko India service portfolio, including temporary power, cooling and loadbank services.
Do you plan to expand to east India where Aggreko doesn’t yet have such presence?
We are currently in the process of evaluating our options in eastern India, which could include the development of a full-scale depot. We will be sharing details once we have finalised the plans.
Do you envisage India to be a site for manufacturing generators, at some point in time?
Our global product and technology hub is based in Dumbarton, Scotland, where our power, cooling and energy storage kits are developed and assembled.
As a commercial business, we are always looking to improve our cost efficiencies, and won’t rule out future decentralised production solutions. We also recently announced that we will invest in expanding our presence in Dumbarton to bring our administration and production services together under one roof. Here, an upgraded production facility will be created, turning the site into an energy hub of the future, powered by energy efficient technologies.
“We expect to further consolidate our position by strengthening our relationships with stakeholders in key sectors.”
How has been Aggreko’s growth in India so far, and how do you see the years ahead? Which user industries are likely to be your business growth drivers?
The rental market in India is still as a nascent stage, particularly when compared to matured markets such as USA and Europe. However, there are very positive signs that customers are becoming more aware of the benefits of renting, and as such, the concept of hiring equipment is growing in popularity.
More awareness is needed in order to switch preference for capital intensive equipment purchase models over hiring of equipment or solutions for critical sectors.
Manufacturing, petrochemical and refining, pharmaceuticals, mining, events, and facilities management are among the sectors that have seen a positive impact from renting a temporary solution to secure their power and cooling needs, such as for short term capacity expansion requirements to capture market demand or to fulfill business continuity needs.
Over the last decade, we have established ourselves as a market leader in India. We continue to see demand for our services grow, in line with the growth in key markets. We have also seen the rental market increase during economic downturn, partly due to delayed or postponed capex approvals.
In line with the market’s growth, we expect to further consolidate our position by strengthening our relationships with stakeholders in key sectors, including data centres.
(All photographs published in this interview relate to Aggreko’s projects in India.)
