In an interview with TimesTech, Praveen Kakulte, CEO of The POWERCON Group, speaks about how the company is reshaping renewable energy through a unified 360-degree ecosystem. He explains how POWERCON’s Energy Studio, DataMann, and OEM-neutral expertise are transforming global asset performance across 22 countries. From predictive analytics to large-scale workforce development through CORE, Praveen outlines a future-ready approach to building smarter, resilient, and intelligent RE operations.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: POWERCON offers a 360-degree Renewable Energy (RE) ecosystem globally. What drove this integrated approach, and how does it solve challenges across different regions?
Praveen: The Renewable Energy (RE) space has always been fragmented, with different vendors, siloed operations, and disconnected acumens. What we saw was a real need for unification. That’s what led us to build a 360-degree RE ecosystem. The goal was simple: make renewable asset management seamless, intelligent, and universally adaptable. Whether it’s policy hurdles or infrastructure limitations in emerging markets, we built a model that adapts locally but delivers at global standards. By combining application-specific engineering, O&M, analytics, and performance optimisation into one stack, we’ve not only cut inefficiencies but also created a more agile and future-proof asset environment for our partners.
TimesTech: The Energy Studio in Pune is a major milestone. How has it transformed remote monitoring and analytics of renewable assets across 22 countries?
Praveen: The Energy Studio is our control tower; it’s where digital meets operational intelligence. With assets spread across 22 countries, real-time visibility wasn’t a luxury; it was a necessity. The Studio lets us pull in data across solar, wind, and hybrid systems and make sense of it—live. But more than just dashboards, it gives us predictive insights, benchmarks performance, and helps us intervene before things go wrong. It sets the battlefield pinpointing the areas of attack, hence sometimes the studio is fondly called as a ‘war room’. What makes it powerful is its ability to contextualise; it understands assets in the backdrop of terrain, weather, ageing, and local variables. This has redefined how we support our clients, remotely, intelligently, and instantly.
TimesTech: As an OEM-neutral and tech-agnostic player, how does POWERCON optimise underperforming or ageing RE assets effectively?
Praveen: Managing a mixed fleet is a different ball game. Different OEMs, different conditions, different challenges. We don’t walk in with a template; we start by listening to what the asset is telling us. Desktop review followed by dip-stick evaluation and if needed deep-dive thereof provide us a good understanding about technical condition of the asset. Using diagnostics and AI, we pick up subtle patterns, performance drops, ageing signs, mismatches, and then tailor the solution. Sometimes it’s parameters moderation, sometimes yaw and pitch realignment, sometimes just a software intervention, or even a major retrofit and upgrade. The advantage is we’re aligned with every brand or model. We work with what’s there and augment it to perform like new. That flexibility is key when every extra unit of energy counts.
TimesTech: How is POWERCON using IoT, AI, and data analytics through DataMann to enhance asset performance and future-proof operations?
Praveen: DataMann – our design house is the brain behind a lot of what we do. Through IoT sensors on the ground and AI at the back end, we’re constantly translating raw site data into real insights. It’s not just about spotting faults; it’s about predicting them, understanding why they might occur, and intervening smartly. We’ve moved from reactive fixes to scenario-based planning, optimising spares, timing interventions, and aligning maintenance with wind cycles or sunshine availability. This shifts the conversation from just uptime to intelligent uptime.
DataMann builds asset management tools for specific applications that involves mechatronic solutions deploying actuators, robotics and drones. The idea is to make complex operations simple and interesting.
TimesTech: Through CORE, POWERCON has trained thousands of experts. How critical is workforce development to the RE sector, and what’s next for CORE?
Praveen: Technology is only as good as the people using it. That’s why CORE was never an afterthought; it was a strategic piece of the puzzle from day one. We knew we have to build capability if we wanted to scale globally. CORE has trained thousands already, and what sets it apart is the balance between classroom theory and field practicality. The next phase is exciting; we are now an extension arm of the world’s fifth largest open university with a mission to boost Renewable Energy capacity of India. 20,000 students will graduate year-on-year to be the ‘RE commandos’ for IPPs, OEMs, Developers and Contractors with global certifications, and creating tracks for leadership, analytics, and hybrid systems. As the industry evolves, CORE is becoming a breeding ground for the next generation of renewable leaders.
TimesTech: What key trends and innovations do you see shaping renewable energy in the next decade, and how is POWERCON preparing for them?
Praveen: Renewable Energy (RE) sources like Wind and Solar happen to be of an intermittent nature whereby its availability as fuel remains uncontrollable, less predictable. The innovations are more towards hybridizing with energy storage and dispatch management systems to gain controllability. Geothermal is emerging as a predictable, controllable RE source. Such an energy mix is expected to constitute a stable RE power plant.
There’s a shift happening, from building assets to operating them intelligently. We’re moving into an era where performance, resilience, and adaptability matter more than just MWs installed. AI-driven O&M, predictive diagnostics, hybrid grid readiness, and sustainability-linked performance metrics are going to reshape how we define success. We’re already leaning into that future, be it through platforms like DataMann, global performance benchmarking, or next-gen workforce skilling through CORE. The industry is evolving fast, and staying ahead means not just adapting to change but actively building for what’s next.
