Inderpreet Singh Wadhwa (born 1972) is an

Indian-American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

entrepreneur. He is the former Chairman &

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Azure Power Global Limited."Inderpreet Singh Wadhwa Executive Profile"
''

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

'' In 2008, he founded

Azure Power Azure Power Global Limited is an independent power producer, a developer and an operator of utility and commercial scale solar PV power plants headquartered in New Delhi, India. The company was founded in 2008 by Inderpreet Wadhwa. The compa ...

, which launched an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on October 12, 2016, enabling the first listing of Indian energy assets on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

. He retired from CEO and Chairman positions of Azure Power in July, 2019 and served as an external advisor to Azure Power till December 31, 2019.

Personal life and education

Wadhwa was born in

Amritsar, Punjab Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

. He has a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering from G.N.D.U, Punjab and graduated from

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business (branded as Berkeley Haas) is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a Public university, public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a pub ...

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

Career

In 2008, Wadhwa founded

with the idea of setting up a business that offers viable and socially responsible alternatives to conventional sources of energy. At the age of 35, Wadhwa, left his job in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

and decided to explore the

solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

sector. Wadhwa pioneered a 1 MW project in a border village in Punjab, which at the time was the largest commercial solar project in India. On December 1, 2009, Azure commissioned the first phase (1 MW) of its 2 MW solar PV plant in Awan,

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

and began to sell solar power to the

Punjab State Electricity Board Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is the electricity generating and distributing state-owned company of the Punjab (India), Punjab state in India. It was formerly known as Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) which was unbundled ...

making Wadhwa the first entrepreneur to sell

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

commercially in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Prior to Azure Power, Wadhwa served as a vice president of Loyalty Lab and as a senior director of

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational computer technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Co-founded in 1977 in Santa Clara, California, by Larry Ellison, who remains executive chairman, Oracle was ...

. Additionally, he has been a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Azure Power

Under Inderpreet’s leadership, Azure Power grew to become one of India's largest solar power developers and operators with a portfolio of over 3 GWs, including over 1.5 GWs of operating assets. The company has established its leadership through a series of industry firsts, including the first Indian solar company to list its shares publicly on the NYSE and the first successful issuance of green bonds for Indian solar assets. In 2016, Azure Power received the National Award under category “Project Developer” by MNRE. In 2018, Azure Power’s project portfolio surpassed the 3 GW milestone. In March 2019, Azure Power surpassed 100 MWs of operating solar rooftop capacity, making the operating portfolio of Azure Roof Power one of the largest in the country. In July 2019, Inderpreet retired from his position as CEO and Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of Azure Power and all its subsidiaries. He will continue to serve as an advisor to the Company until December 31, 2019.

Media Appearances

Inderpreet has relentlessly lobbied generation based incentives in solar sector through Clean Trade initiatives across US and India. His work has been highlighted in publications such as Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, and Economic Times and he is a sought after speaker at major solar power events in India and abroad including Solar Power International, Inter Solar and other leading solar conferences. Some of the public appearances are as below: * Inderpreet Wadhwa interview with OPIC * Inderpreet Wadhwa in conversation with IFC about entrepreneurship in India’s solar power sector * Inderpreet Wadhwa interview at IFC Climate Business Forum 2017 * Inderpreet Wadhwa in conversation David Letterman in Years of Living Dangerously by National Geographic * Inderpreet Wadhwa in conversation with Barclays on access to financing *Inderpreet Wadhwa in conversation with Bloomberg *Inderpreet Wadha in at TEDexLeh on building sustainable infrastructure with inclusive growth

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadhwa, Inderpreet 1972 births Living people American energy industry businesspeople