The Houses Were Free. The Last Mile Was Not: Su-Kam’s 10,000-Home Tamil Nadu Green House Project

1. Hero Archive Anchor

• Primary Source: Facebook Archive — April 2014
• Archive Entry: “Su-Kam installs solar power systems in over 10000 houses across 7 districts in Tamil Nadu under the 'CM's Green House program'.” Districts named: Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam.
• This is not the 2007 TEDA PCU origin. That earlier meeting is told in The Solar PCU — How a Meeting in Tamil Nadu Changed Indian Solar Forever. Green House is a later housing scheme.

2. The Founder’s Story: A Big Entry — and a Hard Stop

By Kunwer Sachdev (Founder & Managing Director, 1988–2018)

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu thought of this project for people living below the poverty line. The state would build the house. Solar lighting would go on the roof. On paper it was nation-building. On the ground, in 2013–2014, it was the hardest last-mile work we had taken in the south.

This was a big entry for us in Tamil Nadu — not a dealer demo, a government housing programme spread across many small towns and villages. The spread was very high. Getting people for installation was tough. There was no ready local solar labour bench. We trained local people for the work, house by house.

The houses themselves were provided by the government. Certain houses were not ready. We had to wait for construction to finish, and then for families to actually shift in, before a solar kit could be commissioned and handed over. A factory can plan a production week. It cannot plan when a rural house gets a door, a roof, and a family.

Five years of water

The warranty was five years. The battery was lead-acid. Water topping was required after about six months — and we had to maintain that discipline for five years across a geography of small towns. That is not a product sale. That is a service company living inside a housing scheme.

Logistics, leakage, and a revolving door

Travelling Tamil Nadu’s small cities for this work was really tough for me. We had a manager in Tamil Nadu who was always changing. People got the experience and left — it was easy for them to get the next job. On top of that there was pilferage from our own staff during logistics. I will not name anyone. It was a big pain, and it sat on my desk.

In May 2014 the newspapers repeated a company line about further thousands of houses. We did only the first ten thousand. Once we realised the work was loss-making, we did not take that path further. Stopping was the decision. The press announcement was not the balance sheet.

3. Ground Reality

4. Verified Contemporaneous Media & Official Records

• The Hindu (2 May 2014): Su-Kam installs solar power system in TN houses
• Times of India (4 May 2014): 10,000 households in Tamil Nadu
• Business Standard (1 May 2014): Su-Kam to invest Rs 60 cr in rooftop solar systems — treat spend and “next phase” counts as contemporaneous claims, not our completion record.
• IT Voice (4 May 2014): Su-Kam powers over 10,000 houses in Tamil Nadu
• NCN (1 May 2014): Su-Kam installs solar power systems in Tamil Nadu
• Official scheme: TN RD — Chief Minister Solar Powered Green House Scheme
• Founder essays: 10 Stories From the Field · Solar Affordable for India · Green Energy for Every Indian

5. Series Connections

• Hub: All solar blogs
• Earlier Tamil Nadu chapter: 2007 TEDA Solar PCU origin — product, not this housing scheme.
• Episode 1: 40,000 UP homes — Direct-DC
• Episode 2: Assam Rifles 100 kW, Myanmar border

Historical Documentation Notice:
This article documents historical work under Kunwer Sachdev as Founder & Managing Director of Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. (1988–2018). He exited in 2019 under the IBC process and holds no association, affiliation, or liability with Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. or its subsequent management.