EIL Put Us on a Navratna Roof. After That, the Projects Kept Coming.
The consultant behind big government projects in India and abroad — and we put ninety kilowatts on their own Sector 16 R&D roof. After that, the doors opened.
By Kunwer Sachdev · CEO & Managing Director, Su-Kam (at the time) · Founder 1988–2018 · Published September 28, 2026 · Historical era: commissioned 28 Dec 2013 · press 13 Feb 2014 · FB #WednesdayWisdom Feb 2018
External / archive — contemporaneous Su-Kam press (via Docest): 90 kWp grid-tie on EIL R&D, Sector 16 Gurugram; commissioned 28 Dec 2013; ~1.25 lakh units/yr; ~₹10 lakh savings; 5-year O&M. GRIHA campus case notes the 90 kWp. Facebook archive: #WednesdayWisdom creative below.
Why EIL Mattered More Than the Kilowatts
Under my leadership as CEO & MD, Su-Kam put a 90 kWp grid-tie plant on the R&D building of Engineers India Limited in Sector 16, Gurugram. EIL is not a random commercial roof. It is a Navratna PSU — and more than that, the consultant for big projects in India and abroad, especially government and infrastructure work. When the firm that advises those projects lets you on its own R&D rooftop, the market hears it.
Here is the founder line I want on record: after EIL, a lot of projects came. Not because ninety kilowatts is a megawatt. Because EIL sits upstream of so many tenders — oil, gas, refineries, pipelines, large government engineering — that a Su-Kam plant on their Sector 16 roof became a reference letter without paper. Institutional buyers ask who you have already done. “We did EIL” shortens the next conversation. Clay Craft was Jaipur’s factory-floor first big bet; that story is elsewhere. EIL was the Gurugram consultancy-prestige proof — and the door that followed it.
What Press Put on the Roof
The February 2014 press note is specific. Su-Kam supplied, installed and commissioned the plant. Specs: three 30 kW grid-tie string inverters and about 300 × 300 Wp panels. Generation framed at over 1.25 lakh units a year; savings over ₹10 lakh annually. The whole job — install through commissioning — in a record four weeks, live on 28 December 2013. Su-Kam also took five years of maintenance. That is not a box-drop. That is a PSU relationship.
The hard engineering was the roof itself. The newly constructed EIL building did not have enough space for a standard 90 kW layout. Our solar team customised a mounting plan — seamless structure to avoid inter-module and pergola shadowing, dead-load design with no roof penetration so waterproofing stayed intact. Remote SCADA logging for generation, irradiance, temperatures and wind. Ashish Sethi (VP, Solar Business) carried the Haryana solar push quote in that release. The company he spoke for was the one I ran.
The Door That Stayed Open
Years later the Facebook page still put EIL in the #WednesdayWisdom series — “Solarizing India” — because a Navratna consultant’s roof is a story you keep telling the channel. GRIHA campus material for EIL Gurugram lists the 90 kWp among the building’s renewable measures. I do not invent a spreadsheet of every order that followed. I will say what I know as the man who ran Su-Kam: EIL gave us a lot of projects after this — because when the consultant trusted on big government work in India and overseas trusts your solar on its own campus, other owners stop treating you as unproven. Prestige is a sales tool. We earned it on Sector 16 in four hard weeks.
Same Gurugram map later held other status moments — Swissnex walking our HO and Baddi. Same institutional ladder climbs to PEC’s megawatt rooftop. EIL sits early on that ladder: prove you can deliver for a Navratna, then keep climbing.
What I Want on Record
Kunwer Sachdev — CEO & MD of Su-Kam. Engineers India Limited, Sector 16 Gurugram R&D: 90 kWp grid-tie rooftop, commissioned 28 December 2013 (press 13 Feb 2014) — 3×30 kW strings, ~300 panels, ~1.25 lakh units/yr and ~₹10 lakh savings framing, custom dead-load structure, SCADA, five-year O&M, four-week build. Founder framing: EIL was the consultant on major India and overseas government projects — winning their roof was a prestige win that opened many more projects afterward. Archive: Su-Kam press flyer + Facebook #WednesdayWisdom (Feb 2018). GRIHA campus case notes the 90 kWp.
Verified Sources
- Su-Kam commissions 90 kWp grid-tie for EIL, Gurgaon (press text via Docest; 13 Feb 2014 / commissioned 28 Dec 2013)
- GRIHA case study — Engineers India Ltd Campus, Gurugram (90 kWp solar PV noted)
- Facebook Archive — #WednesdayWisdom EIL 90 KW on-grid
- Companion — Clay Craft Jaipur (commercial rooftop prestige)
- Companion — PEC Chandigarh ~1 MW
- Companion — Swissnex visit Gurugram / Baddi
Related
- Clay Craft Jaipur — first big commercial rooftop
- PEC Chandigarh ~1 MW
- Swissnex — Gurugram / Baddi
- Facebook Archive — EIL #WednesdayWisdom
FAQ
What did Su-Kam install at EIL Gurugram?
A 90 kWp grid-tie rooftop solar PV plant on the R&D building of Engineers India Limited in Sector 16, Gurugram — three 30 kW string inverters and about 300 × 300 Wp panels. Contemporary press said it would generate over 1.25 lakh units/year and save over ₹10 lakh annually, with Su-Kam also maintaining the plant for five years.
When was it commissioned?
Press dated 13 February 2014 reported the system was commissioned on 28 December 2013 and completed in a record four weeks — including a customised dead-load mounting structure for a tight new-build rooftop and remote SCADA monitoring.
Why does Kunwer Sachdev say EIL opened more projects?
As CEO & MD he frames EIL as the consultant behind many of India’s — and overseas — big government and infrastructure projects. When that firm trusted Su-Kam on its own Sector 16 R&D roof, other institutional buyers took notice. Prestige compounds; that is founder memory, not a numbered pipeline list.
What archive images exist?
A Su-Kam press flyer (“Su-Kam commissions 90 Kwp Grid TIE SOLAR POWER PLANT for EIL, Gurgaon”) with rooftop photo, and the Feb 2018 Facebook #WednesdayWisdom creative (building + array) in this site’s fb-archive.
Is the 90 kWp mentioned in green-building material?
Yes. A GRIHA case study for the Engineers India Ltd campus lists a 90 kWp solar PV installation among the campus renewable measures (provisional 5-star framing in that document).
Historical Documentation Notice:
This article documents historical innovations and installations executed under the leadership of Kunwer Sachdev during his tenure as Founder & Managing Director of Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. (1988–2018). Kunwer Sachdev exited the company in 2019 under the IBC process and holds no association, affiliation, or liability with Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. or its subsequent management.
