GL Garrad Hassan has appointed Mr Rajsekhar Budhavarapu as the new Country Manager of GL Garrad Hassan India. Mr Budhavarapu will be based in Bangalore, India and will develop local services and support for designers, manufacturers, developers and investors of renewable energy projects.
Budhavarapu has 19 years of experience providing technical, operational and strategic leadership for the renewable energy industry. Before joining GL Garrad Hassan he worked for TERI, Asian Wind Turbines (NEG-Micon, India), ECN – the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands, Enercon India Power Development Ltd and Acciona Energy India. At ECN, as an Engineering Scientist, he worked on various European Commission grant supported wind projects and on a Solar Home System Distribution Project undertaken by Shell Solar BV with support from the Government of the Netherlands. As the General Manager of Wind and Regulatory Affairs for Enercon India Power Development Ltd, he was responsible for development of wind power plants on a Build, Own and Operate (BOO) basis in Africa and South East Asia. In his last position, as Director of Development for Acciona Energy India, he was responsible for all aspects of wind and solar (PV & CSP) project development including market research and regulatory affairs. Mr Budhavarapu received a Bachelor of Technology in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT, Madras) and a Masters in International Finance from the University of Amsterdam. Commenting on Mr Budhavarapu’s appointment Mathias Steck, GL Garrad Hassan Regional Manager Asia and Vice President, said: "Mr Budhavarapu’s experience in the Indian wind and solar energy market will further expand GL Garrad Hassan’s renewables business and identify new business opportunities." GL’s Renewables business segment is already present and working in the Indian market, delivering wind turbine design, measurements, certification and project consultancy. With more than 14,000 MW of commercial wind projects installed at the end of March 2011, India is further expanding its activities in the renewable energy business.
