Hodson Development is a renewable energy developer and service provider with a team carrying over 80 years of combined experience across origination, interconnection, permitting, structured debt, EPC and commissioning - on both sides of the world.
Working continuously since 2015, Hodson Development operates across the full development chain - site control and interconnection through permitting, financing, construction and commissioning. That range comes from having done each part for our own balance sheet before offering it as a service.
In the United States, the team has developed approximately 650 MW of solar and storage, funded by over $55 million of private capital. In India, the team built and operates a C&I rooftop and ground-mount portfolio, structured one of the country's earliest corporate solar PPAs with a major steel manufacturer, and co-founded candi solar - now a leading C&I solar and storage developer, owner and operator in India and South Africa.
Greenfield origination through to notice-to-proceed on utility-scale solar and storage in Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania, plus data centre power in permitting.
20 MW across 30 systems, half ground-mount and half C&I rooftop, built and operated through Rockford Solar, candi solar and Hodson Renewables - designed, delivered and monitored in-house.
Owner's engineering, EPC and I&C commissioning for other solar and storage developers who need delivery capability on the ground.
Hodson US Development has raised over $55 million to originate and develop a utility-scale solar and storage pipeline of approximately 650 MW, backed by private debt from Great Bay Renewables (“GBR”) - an Apollo- and Altius-backed capital provider - and development capital from Leyline Renewable Capital. More than 400 MW of developed projects have been sold on to owners and independent power producers.
Capital provider backed by Altius Renewable Royalties and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, supporting build-out of the US pipeline.
Press release · 29 July 2022 Great Bay Renewables announces $40 million royalty investment in Hodson Development’s 1.8 GWac solar plus battery storage portfolio ↗Early-stage development funding partner for solar and storage projects through permitting and interconnection.
Press release Leyline Renewable Capital - transactions and announcements ↗Data centre power projects with Truss Energy are in permitting in Virginia, Wyoming and Georgia.
One of the largest solar projects developed in the Commonwealth of Virginia, sited in Buckingham County. The parcel runs to a 230 kV transmission line on its northern boundary.
Utility-scale solar in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, taken through site control, permitting and interconnection. Two adjoining parcels either side of a central access route.
Utility-scale solar in Jay County, Indiana, taken through site control, permitting and grid studies. The site sits directly beside the AEP Jay substation and a 138 kV line.
Utility-scale solar in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, developed inside the PJM interconnection footprint across two adjoining parcels.
Developing and permitting data centre power projects in Virginia, Wyoming and Georgia, in partnership with Truss Energy.
India's C&I solar market was still being written when these were built. Net-metering rules changed mid-construction, corporate PPAs had almost no precedent, and international lenders had barely touched the sector. Hodson built through all three.
One of the largest solar rooftop projects in India at the time of construction, spread across Jindal Saw's Uttar Pradesh and Nashik facilities. The team executed on genuinely difficult terrain - live heavy-industrial roofs, spiral and seamless pipe mills, cold mill and API sheds - against a net-metering policy that was still emerging as the plants were being energised.
Four sheds were built and commissioned across the two plants: the Spiral shed at Kosi Kalan (910 kW) and Jindal Quality Tubular's Seamless shed (716.8 kW), and at Nashik Unit 1 (1,891 kW) and Unit 2 / NA03 (543.4 kW) - 4,061 kWp in total, all energised between January and October 2018.
The project also delivered one of the first corporate solar PPAs signed with a major steel manufacturer in India, on an 18-year lease at a 20% discount to the variable grid tariff. It was financed on Hodson's own balance sheet through Hodson Renewables, with senior debt from responsAbility / the Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF).
A multi-phase build-out for one industrial group across its Kagal and Mudshingi works: core shop, machine shop, fitting shop and paint shop rooftops, followed by a ground-mount array and a solar carport. Delivered under long-term energy supply contracts with generation guaranteed against modelled yield.
Alongside the heavy-industrial work, the team built out a dense urban portfolio under candi solar - the C&I platform Rahul Gill co-founded in 2017 - across Chandigarh, Mohali and Gurgaon. It includes The Tribune newspaper's 182 kWp office array and a residential scheme, the Novus Tower office building, the Chandigarh Club, and seven school campuses.
These are the hardest sites to build on: occupied buildings, restricted access, ballasted and poured-concrete foundations on ageing flat roofs, and net-metering approvals negotiated one utility at a time.
Half of the India installed base sits on the ground rather than a roof. The team developed and built 10 MW of ground-mount solar at Muktsar, Punjab - land assembly, grid connectivity with the state utility, civil and structural works, and full installation and commissioning through to energisation.
Ground mount changes the problem set: land title and conversion, levelling and drainage across the array, pile design for the local soil, evacuation to the nearest substation, and module cleaning regimes suited to the dust and stubble season in western Punjab. The plant is built on Jinko Solar modules and ABB inverters, with Voltamp transformers, Tricolite breakers and Onexis combiner boxes.
Six views of the same plant - rows, alignment, boundary, access and structures.
The team has built and operated 20 MW across 30 systems in India through Rockford Solar, candi solar and Hodson Renewables, split evenly between ground-mount and C&I rooftop. Work has been continuous since 2015. The state and sector detail below covers the 24 C&I systems recorded in the as-built technical tracker, 3,506 kWp of the rooftop half.
Ground-mount arrays, industrial rooftops, flat roofs and carports, all commissioned and operational.
Built and operated in India through Rockford Solar, candi solar and Hodson Renewables since 2015.
Developed and built at Muktsar, Punjab - half of the India installed base by capacity.
Industrial and commercial rooftop, flat-roof and carport systems for corporate offtakers.
| Region | Sys. | kWp | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | 8 | 1,545.1 | 44.1% |
| Rajasthan | 2 | 1,008.1 | 28.8% |
| Chandigarh UT | 8 | 497.8 | 14.2% |
| Punjab | 3 | 245.7 | 7.0% |
| Haryana | 3 | 209.4 | 6.0% |
| Total | 24 | 3,506.1 | 100% |
| Type | kWp | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ground mount - Muktsar, PB | 10,000 | 50.0% |
| C&I rooftop & flat roof | 10,000 | 50.0% |
| Total | 20,000 | 100% |
| Sector | Sys. | kWp | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 13 | 2,883.6 | 82.2% |
| Education | 7 | 327.1 | 9.3% |
| Media & office | 2 | 217.7 | 6.2% |
| Hospitality & residential | 2 | 77.7 | 2.2% |
| Total | 24 | 3,506.1 | 100% |
2,918 kVA of the 3,581 kVA portfolio inverter capacity, across 13 sites and 69 units.
Seven manufacturers - Huawei, Zeversolar, Sungrow, Delta, Growatt, Schneider and SolarEdge.
Vikram, Jinko, Longi, Trina, Talesun and Waaree - 1,808 kWp of Vikram alone.
Portfolio-weighted, with average system size of 146 kWp and string voltages to 1,100 Vdc.
Systems this team developed, built and commissioned, with the equipment and dates as recorded in the as-built technical tracker. Every photograph is an as-built site record from the project it sits beside.
Four sheds across two plants - Spiral 910 kW and Seamless 717 kW at Kosi Kalan, Unit 1 at 1,891 kW and Unit 2 at 543 kW at Nashik.
The largest single system in the documented India portfolio, on an auto-components manufacturing roof.
One of six systems built for Ghatge Patil Industries across its Kagal and Mudshingi works, 1,199 kWp in total.
Office and canteen block arrays for the newspaper's Chandigarh campus, built on an occupied building.
Fixed-tilt ground mount - land assembly, piling, structures, HT evacuation and energisation all delivered in-house.
A ballasted array on the roof of an occupied Gurgaon office tower, with no roof penetration.
Industrial-components rooftop in Kolhapur, built across the plant's main production sheds.
Railway-components manufacturer in Mohali - one of the Punjab systems the local crew still services.
Auto-components rooftop in the Gurgaon industrial belt, one of two systems for the same group.
A school campus array on flat roofs, built and commissioned around the academic calendar.
One of seven school campuses in the portfolio, delivered on an occupied site during term time.
A recreation and restaurant client - flat and sloped roof sections tied into a single system.
Hodson takes on defined scopes for developers, IPPs and owners who need execution capability - as owner's engineer, as EPC contractor, or as the commissioning team that gets the plant energised and accepted.
Hodson is currently undertaking EPC and installation & commissioning work in Punjab, Haryana & NCR, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, with crews and supervision resourced locally in each state.
Hodson works with channel partners - consultants, equipment suppliers, electrical contractors, IPPs and developers - who have the relationship but not the crew. If you can put us in front of the decision maker, we take on the EPC or the I&C sub-contract and you are paid a referral fee on award.
A named site with a defined scope, a budget owner who has agreed to meet, and a capacity above roughly 100 kWp for rooftop or 1 MW for ground mount. Anything in Punjab, Haryana & NCR, Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh moves fastest.
The introduction and the context - who decides, what has already been quoted, and when they intend to award. Register the opportunity before the meeting and it is protected against a second partner bringing us the same site.
A referral fee on contract award, and the option to stay across delivery. We quote, mobilise, commission and carry the performance obligation. Your relationship with the client stays yours.
Include the site and state, approximate capacity, scope (EPC, I&C or O&M), the decision maker and their role, and the expected award date. That is enough for us to price it.
Co-founded in 2017 by Rahul Gill and members of the Hodson team, candi solar is now one of the leading C&I solar and storage developers, owners and operators in India and South Africa.
www.candi.solar ↗Hodson's sister company, Rockford Solar has built and operated over 20 MW of rooftop and ground-mount solar projects in India for leading commercial and industrial establishments.
The India balance-sheet vehicle that financed and owns the Jindal Saw portfolio, funded with senior debt from responsAbility / the Global Climate Partnership Fund.
More than 80 years of combined experience across development, engineering, construction, project finance and operations - built at Goldman Sachs, General Electric, KPMG, NRG, 8minute Energy / Avantus, Holcim, Schlumberger and Staten Solar, and applied across the United States and India.
Developer and financier of over 1.5 GW across a 20-year career, with experience at Goldman Sachs, NRG and 8minute Energy / Avantus focused on project finance, development and due diligence. Co-founded candi solar in 2017. Began his career as a geophysicist at Schlumberger.
Over 30 years across developed and emerging markets in infrastructure, with deep networks in the energy sector. Business Development Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Garanti Koza Energy, Project Development Leader at General Electric, executive at Holcim South Africa and Director of Corporate Finance at KPMG.
Sixteen years in the energy industry. Developed 3 GW of solar in the United States and over 300 MW in India with Hodson Development and Rockford Solar, first as Director of EPC and later as SVP. Began his career as an engineer at Staten Solar. His engineering and project-management background shows in team management, resource coordination and delivering to programme and budget.
A highly experienced real estate acquisition and development professional who has acquired and onboarded land across Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, the Midwest and the South East.
Over six years in renewable energy, specialising in the design and development of data centre, utility-scale solar and battery storage (BESS) projects. Particular strength in desktop studies, interconnection processes, pre-design feasibility assessment and modelling simulation - a detail-oriented approach that keeps interconnection applications moving and execution efficient.
A permitting and development professional specialising in energy projects across complex regulatory environments, advancing large-scale projects from early-stage feasibility through entitlement and permitting. Began as a Research Analyst before moving into Junior Developer and Permitting Lead, working with cross-functional teams on zoning, land use and regulatory approvals.
Whether you need a development partner, an owner's engineer, an EPC contractor or a commissioning team, tell us the stage the project is at and we will tell you plainly whether we are the right people for it.
