Husk Power Systems, a Bihar-based rural firm operating renewable mini grids in Asia and Africa, on Thursday said it has surpassed 100 community mini-grids and was serving more than 5,000 micro-enterprise customers — two firsts in the industry.
According to the press release, the firm continued to grow from March to September and saw a 52 per cent increase in customers in India, while its revenue grew by 101 per cent during the same period.
“The 100 mini-grids, located in India and Tanzania with near-term expansion to additional African markets including Nigeria, represent a more than 10-fold increase from mid-2018,” it said.
The firm added that the average capacity of the mini-grids was 50 kW, a system size that is significantly larger than most other rural energy service providers and able to power multiple productive loads for a range of small businesses.
“We’re now able to roll out at least two new mini-grids per week, one of the fastest growth rates in the industry, and there is still considerable room for acceleration,” said Manoj Sinha, chief executive officer and founder, Husk Power.
He added that hitting 100 mini grids is a stepping stone to becoming the first commercially-viable mini grid company in the world and to doubling their mini-grid fleet to 200 in the next 12 months. This would be in line with their target of reaching 5,000-minigrid sites serving 500,000 micro-enterprise customers.
Micro-enterprise customers of the firm on average have seen a 33 per cent increase in profits once connected to the mini-grids, according to the company’s market research.
Husk Power’s rapid growth has been supported by its success in raising US$25 million in equity financing from leading investors, including FMO, Shell, Swedfund and ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies.
According to Brad Mattson, chairman of Husk Power board of directors, said the firm is planning to achieve operating profitability by 2021.
