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Our guest for episode 16 of the Vietnam Innovators podcast is Samresh Kumar, the Executive Chairman and CEO of SkyX Solar, a subsidiary of VinaCapital Group. Upholding the company’s mission to “transform the vast idle roofs in Vietnam with clean power”, Samresh’s 20 years (10 years in Vietnam) of solid experience in agriculture, retail, and energy comes in handy, as he leads the team to provide end-to-end long term clean energy solutions. He also heads the Vinacapital Principal Investments.
Launched in 2019 when Vinacapital expanded its investments into the energy industry, SkyX Solar is a solar rooftop power developer focusing on the commercial and industrial (C&I) space. It combines the strengths of Vietnam’s largest investment and asset management firm with the advantages of an international player to provide world-class solar solutions to its clients.
Converting “idle” roofs to a sustainable source of energy
SkyX Solar’s goal is to bridge the demand-supply gap in Vietnam’s energy sector. With coal, natural gas, and even wind energy projects either dead or taking time to get moving, solar energy is the best way to complement Vietnam’s sustainability efforts.
SkyX Solar joins forces with industrial park infrastructures and commercial enterprises “with large roofs”, which the company leases and builds a solar power system on -- a renewable energy solution that brings cost savings and carbon footprint reduction benefits. Clients put zero money into the project and start saving money from the very day they consume energy from the solar roofs, explains Samresh.
“When you look at the solar power sector in Vietnam, in the last two years, solar power capacity has developed from almost zero to more than 20,0000 MW as of today. It’s an incredible kind of development. In five years, I believe it could be 100,000 MW.”
What’s driving this growth? Samresh answers, “Number one is government support; there are already regulations in places and all companies want clean energy. Number two is the fact that capital prices for solar power production have gone down significantly, probably by 50% in the last two years, making it commercially attractive for businesses.”