Tata BP Solar wins the Golden Peacock Award for Innovation 2009
Announcement / Corporate Oct 30, 2009, 18:41 IST
Tata BP Solar, a pioneer and market leader in the solar energy industry in India, has received the “Golden Peacock Award 2009 for Innovation” for the path-breaking solutions devised by it in the delivery of solar home lighting systems in rural areas in north India. The award, instituted by the Institute of Directors, was received by Mr Tom Prescott from BP at a ceremony held in London recently.
Mr. K Subramanya, CEO, Tata BP Solar, said, “By partnering with regional rural banks such as Aryavart Gramin Bank, Lucknow, Tata BP Solar has broken new ground in making solar home lighting systems available and affordable for villagers in north India, especially in Uttar Pradesh. We have also devised innovative solutions to provide after-sales service in the interiors of Chhattisgarh by engaging and training the local youth in maintenance of the village-level solar plants set up there by the state government.”
Tata BP has sold more than 50,000 solar home lighting systems in Uttar Pradesh in the last two yeas by tying up with regional rural banks, which provide small loans to the villagers to enable them to purchase solar lighting systems on monthly installments. In Chhattisgarh, Tata BP Solar has installed more than 300 village-level solar plants for the Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA). The company innovated a unique concept to identify and train local youth in each village and engaged them as facilitators to look after the plants.
Tata BP Solar designs, manufactures, distributes and services solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, modules and systems as well as solar thermal solutions such as solar water heaters for individuals, institutions, businesses, and governments. The Bangalore-based company with an all-India network of regional offices and authorized dealers achieved a turnover of more than Rs. 1100 crore in 2008-09.
Tata BP Solar, a joint venture between BP Solar (51%) and Tata Power Company (49%), is a showcase of Indo-British collaboration. It is a pioneer and market leader in the Indian solar energy market, manufacturing photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules and solar water heaters at its plants in Bangalore. The company caters to a wide range of domestic and commercial applications including heating and lighting of homes and streets, providing reliable energy for businesses, grid-connect solar PV plants for power generation, road safety solutions, solar power for communication devices used by the military, as well as pumping water for field irrigation. Tata BP Solar revenue has exceeded Rs 1000 crores in the last financial year.
The prestige of Golden Peacock Awards is questionable, given the quantities they are given away in each year. From 1995 to 2010 at least 710 Golden Peacock Awards have been given in 13 categories. In 2010, 79 awards were given - this data is sourced from the website: www.goldenpeacockawards.com Fees to apply for these awards range around Rs.39,500. The income from the Golden Peacock Awards is significant, especially with many awards created for many winners, and for many paying applicants. It seems that the Golden Peacock Awards are designed to bring in a large income to the organisers, opposed to recognising and promoting outstanding achievement.
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