Sandip Sinha is vice-president, microgrids and head, renewable segment at ABB India Limited. ABB is a global technology company in power and automation, catering to utility, industry, transportation and infrastructure customers. As segment head for renewables, he focuses on the end-user segment, building customer knowledge on ABB’s applications. In this capacity, he looks after the enhancement of customer engagement and promotion of ABB’s complete portfolio. As vice-president of the microgrids segment, he oversees the programme management aspects of the microgrids set up by ABB in India.
Sinha has nearly 24 years of extensive industry experience, which includes 20 years in ABB where he has held various management positions in the field of manufacturing, testing, sales and marketing. He has also held managerial roles in project management and services, primarily in the energy automation and communication domains. He is committed to improving project performance while lowering its environmental impact.
An advocate of microgrids, Sinha believes that lower energy storage solution costs and growth in the deployment of distributed renewable generation plants will lead to increased uptake of microgrids in India as well as globally. “At present, most of the microgrids in India are concentrated in the rural regions, where they cater to load shifting applications. However, microgrids have a lot of other applications as well, which have been demonstrated internationally,” he remarks.
Sinha believes that the multi-functionality of microgrids can assist in seamless transition from grid connection to islanded mode, grid stabilisation, peak load shaving, renewable energy smoothening, and other functions in the Indian grid system. He is positive that India will follow the example of other countries in microgrid uptake as government agencies have already started releasing tenders for renewable energy-based microgrid systems in various remote regions. “ABB is looking forward to being a part of these projects,” Sinha says.
According to him, one of ABB’s important recent projects in India was the installation of a microgrid comprising a rooftop solar plant and an energy storage system at its manufacturing facility in Vadodara. He is satisfied that the project has been performing well ever since its inception a year ago and is estimated to reach its payback period in six years.
A bachelor of electrical engineering from Bangalore University, he has an MBA from IIT Delhi.
