He remembers the classroom first: steel benches, a fan that didn’t transfer, and a instructor talking softly over the warmth. “Photo voltaic was a lightweight of hope, however now we’re again at the hours of darkness.” The road stayed with 28-year-old engineer Sohan Naik lengthy after he left Koppal that day.

Sohan is the Managing Director of ‘Energy Planet’, a Bengaluru-based renewable vitality firm. He grew up watching what a working energy provide can change. Right now, his work is rooted in a easy promise to rural Karnataka: gentle that stays on, so examine, harvests, healthcare and livelihoods should not left to likelihood.

In lots of villages throughout Karnataka, electrical energy was as soon as an unreliable luxurious. Flickering bulbs, hours of energy cuts, and unpredictable voltage have been a part of on a regular basis life. Farmers misplaced crops when water pumps stopped mid-irrigation. Kids bent over homework by the dim glow of kerosene lamps. 

Well being staff saved medicines in ice packing containers, hoping that energy would return earlier than provides spoiled. Retailers pulled shutters early. Households lay awake on breathless nights. On-line lessons and digital work felt impossibly far-off.

It was in these very gaps of darkness that Sohan noticed his objective. He doesn’t simply wish to set up photo voltaic panels; he desires to make sure that gentle, hope, and alternative keep on. His firm gives photo voltaic dwelling programs, rooftop setups, mini-grids and tailor-made rural options which have modified the rhythm of life in once-neglected communities.

Right now, in those self same villages, nights are now not darkish. School rooms glow after sundown. Farmers run solar-powered pumps to guard their crops. Well being centres refrigerate vaccines with out fear. Households get pleasure from regular followers, lighting and web. Retailers keep open later, companies develop, and kids log in to classes with out worry of sudden disconnection.

A childhood steeped in service

Energy Planet’s story begins in 1997, when Sohan’s dad and mom, each electronics and communication engineers, arrange a small manufacturing unit for UPS (Uninterrupted Energy Provide) programs. On the time, outages have been frequent, and the household wished to supply reasonably priced backup energy to houses and companies.

By 2012, because the demand for cleaner, renewable vitality grew, the corporate shifted its focus. It moved from UPS manufacturing to solar-based options, particularly for communities the place dependable electrical energy was nonetheless a distant dream.

For Sohan, becoming a member of the household enterprise by no means felt like an obligation. It was intuition. As a baby, he typically rode alongside together with his mom on service calls, clinging to the entrance seat of her scooter as she fastened technical points at buyer websites.

“At that age, I didn’t perceive the know-how,” he recollects, “however I noticed how relieved individuals have been when the facility got here again. That made an impression.”

Years later, throughout a go to to his father’s alma mater in Koppal, that impression become objective. His father confirmed him the college the place he had as soon as studied — a constructing nonetheless tormented by outages a long time later. Collectively, they put in an off-grid photo voltaic system there. For the primary time, school rooms had dependable, 24/7 energy.

“Tons of of scholars have benefited since then,” Sohan says with pleasure. “That challenge taught me photo voltaic isn’t nearly panels and batteries. It’s about dignity, alternative, and hope.”

Why energy wants care, not simply panels

Early in his profession, Sohan found that the promise of solar energy doesn’t at all times final in follow. On one challenge, Energy Planet put in models throughout a distant village. Inside a yr, most had stopped working — not due to defective know-how, however as a result of there was no upkeep, no spare elements and no coaching for customers.

“The programs have been deserted. And when that instructor advised me, ‘we’re again at the hours of darkness’, I realised the actual hole wasn’t entry, it was sustainable entry,” he says.

That realisation reshaped Energy Planet’s strategy. As a substitute of treating photo voltaic like a one-time sale, the corporate constructed a mannequin round long-term partnership:

• Distant digital monitoring for accountability
  

• Quarterly on-site inspections
  

• WhatsApp help teams so prospects can at all times attain somebody
  

• Versatile financing to make photo voltaic reasonably priced for low-income households
  

• Coaching native customers to deal with primary troubleshooting
  

“Clients know that if one thing goes fallacious, we’ll be there inside 24 hours,” Sohan explains. “That’s how we’ve constructed belief.”

Powering progress throughout Karnataka

Within the final 12 years, Energy Planet has reached greater than 2,700 households and 350 industrial shoppers throughout Karnataka, working in districts like Davanagere, Chikkamagaluru, and Bengaluru. Collectively, these initiatives offset practically 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year.

“Our work now touches each nook of rural life, from schooling and houses to agriculture and industries,” Sohan says. “Colleges run night lessons with out interruption. Farmers function photo voltaic water pumps and chilly storage models, saving crops and boosting earnings. Households get pleasure from uninterrupted web and lighting, enabling each work-from-home and on-line education. Customised photo voltaic options cut back vitality prices for warehouses and small factories.”

He recollects one case that bolstered his perception in standing by prospects. “A shopper as soon as longed for an on-grid photo voltaic system, however had been cheated by unreliable distributors. When he refused to pay an advance, we invested practically Rs 20 lakh of our personal cash and accomplished the challenge in simply two days. He was astonished. That second bolstered why we do what we do.”

‘We don’t have even 2 seconds of downtime’

For others, the change has been deeply private. Sukhwinder, a resident of Mutthasandra, put in a 5KW off-grid photo voltaic system with 4 batteries. “Earlier than this, frequent energy cuts disrupted the whole lot, even my work conferences. Instantly, I’d drop out of video calls. It was irritating,” he says.

Now, his dwelling has round the clock energy and web. “Our neighbours nonetheless complain about outages and fluctuations, however for us, not even two seconds of downtime in a complete day. That’s such a blessing.”

What impressed Sukhwinder most was not simply the know-how, however the response. “We had some inverter points early on, however Energy Planet resolved the whole lot inside per week. Sohan himself got here to my home at midnight. He even cancelled a trip to assist. They deal with your drawback as their very own. That’s uncommon.”

When belief turned the strongest forex

Energy Planet’s community-first philosophy drives its improvements. When giant initiatives improve their photo voltaic panels, the corporate repurposes older however purposeful panels, providing them to farmers at 40–50 p.c decrease value. That permits smallholders to run photo voltaic pumps with out heavy monetary pressure.

Financing is tailor-made too. The corporate gives in-house fee plans and companions with NBFCs (Non-Banking Monetary Firms) and banks reminiscent of State Financial institution of India to make photo voltaic accessible by means of loans and subsidies. “Some households could solely need two bulbs. Others wish to run their complete dwelling. We design reasonably priced programs for each,” says Sohan.

But, the hardest problem has not been know-how or financing. It has been belief. “Within the early days, convincing communities in regards to the long-term worth of photo voltaic was a continuing uphill activity. Folks have been uncertain about reliability, payback, and even insurance policies. Educating prospects, whereas navigating regulatory shifts, examined us, however it additionally made us extra resilient and adaptive,” Sohan shares.

That persistence has paid off. Right now, Energy Planet is now not only a family-run enterprise. “It’s a legacy-driven model rooted in belief, with many initiatives coming from referrals and repeat shoppers,” he provides.

The engineer behind the mission

For Sohan, being a mechanical engineer helps him perceive the technical aspect, however most of his information has come from the sector. “I nonetheless name my father for steerage once I’m caught,” he admits. “Each challenge teaches me one thing new. That’s the fantastic thing about renewable vitality, it retains evolving.”

Past the engineering, it’s his dedication to those who drives him. “Photo voltaic is commonly seen as simply panels and batteries. However for me, it’s about fixing actual issues, whether or not it’s a scholar finding out at night time or a farmer saving his harvest,” he says.

Trying forward, Energy Planet plans to scale into bigger industrial and industrial initiatives, combine battery storage and construct EV charging infrastructure. The objective is to turn into one of the recognised photo voltaic manufacturers in South India. But, the mission stays unchanged: to ship dependable, reasonably priced, clear vitality the place it’s wanted most.

“Electrical energy modifications the whole lot, from schooling to well being and livelihoods,” Sohan says. “Once I see the enjoyment on individuals’s faces, I do know we’re not simply powering houses. We’re powering dignity. For me, this journey has been deeply rewarding, and each happy buyer reminds us why we began.”

All photographs courtesy Sohan Naik