Founded in 2021, Mumbai-headquartered Aerem Group is a Mumbai-headquartered “FinTech for CleanTech” company, specializing in full-stack solutions for rooftop and distributed solar adoption. It currently empowers over 2,000 EPCs, MSMEs, and households, enabling 1,200+ MW solar capacity with massive CO₂ reductions. In this exclusive interaction, we have Anand Jain, Founder & CEO, Aerem Group, explaining the full suite of Aerem Group solutions that addresses the entire solar value chain. Anand Jain is bullish on India’s 500 GW RE target by 2030 and foresee Aerem Group growing three-fold, backed by increased solar adoption by C&I customers and MSMEs.
 
 
We broadly understand that Aerem provides end-to-end solutions to both EPC companies and potential owners of solar power plants. Tell us in brief about the bouquet of solutions that Aerem offers for these two categories.
Aerem provides a comprehensive, integrated ecosystem tailored for EPC companies and solar plant owners, uniting stakeholders like EPCs, financiers, equipment suppliers, and MSMEs to accelerate rooftop solar adoption across India.
For EPCs, our bouquet includes SunStore, a curated marketplace for high-quality, ALMM-compliant solar equipment procurement; AeROC, our advanced remote operations center for real-time monitoring, diagnostics, and performance analytics; design and simulation tools for optimized plant layouts; comprehensive training programs to upskill partners; and flexible financing options such as solar loans and supply chain finance through NetZero Finance, enabling EPCs to scale projects without capital constraints.
For plant owners, particularly in the C&I and residential segments, we offer the user-friendly Aerem App for seamless real-time tracking of generation, savings, and health metrics, alongside hassle-free funding via NetZero, all aligned with MNRE’s Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme aiming for 40 GW by 2026. This end-to-end approach has already enabled over 800 MW across 1,500+ projects in 70+ cities, delivering 50-70 per cent energy cost reductions, as I’ve emphasized in podcasts like “Solar Is My Passion” where I describe Aerem as “Aapka Solar Saathi” to democratize solar.
 
On a finer point, can the owner of an existing solar plant avail services by Aerem, say for ongoing monitoring and maintenance?
Yes, owners of existing solar plants whether rooftop or small ground-mounted can seamlessly integrate Aerem’s services for ongoing monitoring and maintenance without requiring hardware retrofits, making it highly accessible under MNRE-backed rooftop schemes. Our AeROC platform delivers centralized dashboards with real-time metrics like generation yield, inverter health, string-level diagnostics, and predictive maintenance alerts, while the Aerem App provides mobile-friendly insights including state-wise performance trends crucial in India’s diverse climates from Rajasthan’s highs to Kerala’s humidity.
This retrofittable solution has optimized over 1,200 projects, unlocking 50-70% cost savings through proactive issue resolution and downtime minimization. In interviews like “Solar Is My Passion,” I’ve highlighted how such tech bridges EPC and owner gaps, addressing common pain points like underperformance in aging plants amid rising O&M needs in India’s C&I rooftop market, where over 75 per cent of capacity requires such enhancements.
 

 
Does Aerem deal with rooftop solar alone or does it support larger ground-mounted grid-tied installations as well?
While Aerem’s core strength lies in rooftop solar for C&I and residential user driving the bulk of distributed generation, our scalable platform fully supports larger ground-mounted grid-tied installations up to MW-scales through our nationwide partner network spanning 70+ cities.
Solutions like SunStore kits scale for ground projects, Partner App streamlines EPC coordination, and AeROC provides unified monitoring for hybrid setups, complementing MNRE’s estimate of India’s 748 GW rooftop solar potential alongside utility-scale growth. Having enabled 800+ MW total, we focus on C&I rooftops as the immediate growth engine toward the 500 GW RE target, but our flexible tools adapt to ground-mount needs like higher capacity factors in solar-rich states. My 15+ years in solar, as shared publicly, underscore building ecosystems that serve all scales without silos.
 
“Aerem empanels partners through stringent AAA quality framework, mandatory ALMM compliance, and in-house engineering validation.”
 
When Aerem empanels EPC partners and solar equipment providers on its ecosystem, how do you ensure the quality standards of their products and services? In other words, how do you create the confidence that “SunStore” is an assured marketplace and not just an aggregated platform?
Aerem empanels partners through our stringent AAA quality framework, which includes rigorous pre-testing for durability, compatibility, and real-world performance (e.g., PID resistance, thermal cycling), mandatory ALMM compliance, and in-house engineering validation featuring trusted brands like Waaree and Emmvee in DCR kits, directly matching MNRE’s DCR mandates for subsidies under PM-KUSUM and PLI schemes.
Unlike mere aggregators, SunStore is an assured marketplace backed by our 2,000+ vetted EPC network, performance warranties, and post-installation support, mitigating supply chain risks like quality variances that plague small projects. This has sustained trust across 1,500+ deployments, as I’ve noted in interviews where I stress integrity as key to scaling solar amid India’s fragmented market.
 
We presume that Aerem’s “owner” clients are largely from the C&I space. Are there some categories (within the C&I domain) that are showing more inclination towards solar? How is Aerem approaching the residential space?
Our owner clients are indeed predominantly from the C&I space, where high-baseload users like manufacturing (textiles, chemicals), pharmaceuticals, and SMEs show the strongest inclination due to escalating grid tariffs, ESG mandates, and 50-70 per cent savings potential accounting for over 75 per cent of India’s rooftop capacity as C&I consumes 51 per cent of electricity. Aerem approaches residential users strategically with plug-and-play SunStore kits (e.g., DCR-compliant for subsidies), zero-collateral NetZero loans, and simplified app onboarding, aligning with MNRE’s extended Phase-II rooftop program to boost household adoption. In podcasts, I’ve discussed how tech-finance hybrids like ours bridge C&I scale with residential accessibility, targeting MSMEs first while expanding home solar nationwide.
 

 
We understand that for solar plant owners, the issue of net metering and gross metering was always a point of contention, especially with state-to-state variations in guidelines. How is the situation today?
Net metering remains state-specific but has stabilized with MNRE’s national cap at 500kW (up to 100 per cent load), enabling successes like Gujarat’s 1,232 MW installed; Karnataka offers virtual/group net metering at Rs.3.57 per unit up to 5 MW, Maharashtra supports 5 MW projects, while 2025 reforms promote storage-integrated gross metering for captives.
Variations persist, but policy maturity via MNRE guidelines eases adoption; Aerem’s seventy city footprint provides localized compliance navigation, from Delhi’s single-window clearances to Tamil Nadu’s incentives. As I’ve shared publicly, this evolution accelerates our mission, turning contention into opportunity for self-consumption.
 
As a market place, how is Aerem supporting the “Make in India” philosophy? Also, how do you gauge India’s self-reliance in the field of solar cells (not modules)?
Aerem strongly supports Make in India by curating SunStore with PLI/DCR-compliant domestic products like Waaree panels, fostering local manufacturing and jobs while qualifying for MNRE subsidies—echoing the June 2026 mandate for India-made PV cells in schemes. India’s solar cell self-reliance lags critically at under 30 GW capacity (vs module overcapacity), with heavy imports for wafers/polysilicon despite ambitious 40 GW wafer targets by 2027 and PLI incentives; progress is moderate but accelerating. My 15-year solar advocacy highlights the need for upstream focus to match our module prowess.
 
“NetZero Finance, Aerem’s wholly-owned RBI-approved solar-focused NBFC, pioneers tailored financing as India’s first such entity.”
 
Tell us about your subsidiary “NetZero Finance” that we understand is India’s first and only RBI-approved solar-focused NBFC.
NetZero Finance, Aerem’s wholly-owned RBI-approved solar-focused NBFC, pioneers tailored financing as India’s first such entity, offering collateral-free loans from Rs.10,000 to multi-crore with quick approvals via app integration fitting MNRE’s call for calibrated solar financing.
 
With a test case, can you illustrate the ease of servicing a solar loan, given the savings in electricity costs?
Let us take a test case: A Mumbai C&I firm’s Rs.5-lakh 10-kW rooftop generates 15,000 kWh/year, saving Rs.1.2 lakh at Rs.8 per unit grid rate, easily covering Rs.9,000 monthly EMI over 5 years (20-30 per cent bill cut), with Aerem App verifying RoI in 3-4 years. Backed by our Rs.136 -crore funding round, it unlocks 50-70 per cent savings nationwide.
 
In future, when grid electricity rates drop, thanks to larger solar power injection, will captive solar power plants still be as profitable; more so, when BESS potentially irons out the “intermittency” effects of solar power?
Absolutely captive solar’s Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE, the average net present cost of electricity generation over a system’s lifetime) remains at Rs.2-3 per unit, far below grid tariffs (Rs.5-8 per unit even post-drops), with BESS enabling peak arbitrage, reliability, and higher value per MNRE’s hybrid/RTC power focus; our projects showcase Rs.14,000 crore lifetime savings over 25 years. Grid pressures from 35 GW FY26 solar additions reinforce captive advantages like zero transmission losses and inflation-proof generation, regardless of utility-scale influx.
 
“For small plants, pain points include module oversupply, fragmented logistics, inconsistent quality, financing bottlenecks and trade tensions.”
 
When we see the solar supply chain for small solar power plants (rooftop or ground-mounted), what are the currently the pain-points?
For small plants, pain points include module oversupply contrasting cell/wafer import shortages (90 per cent reliance), fragmented logistics delaying 20-30 per cent of projects, inconsistent quality eroding 10-15 per cent yields, financing bottlenecks for EPCs, and trade tensions inflating costs despite MNRE’s ALMM List-II safeguards. Aerem counters via SunStore’s pre-vetted kits, rapid NetZero funding, and software for our 2,000+ EPCs, streamlining end-to-end for reliable delivery.
 
India’s 500-GW non-fossil capacity target by 2030 rests mainly on solar. Given this, how do you see the years ahead for Aerem? What would you regard as your main business growth drivers?
Aerem is bullish on India’s 500 GW RE target by 2030 (solar comprising 280+ GW, needing 46 GW annual adds), with MNRE noting 15 GW bid wins in 2025 alone via C&I/rooftops/system strength shifts. We foresee 3-4x growth post-Rs.136 crore raise, driven by C&I/MSME adoption (75 per cent rooftop share), NetZero’s financing scale, SunStore’s marketplace expansion, and tailwinds like PLI/net metering reforms, positioning our 800 MW milestone centrally in the solar surge.
 
 
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