Risk & ROI in Modern Energy Projects

Q1. Which roles most shaped how you assess technical and commercial risk in energy projects, and what scale of decisions were you accountable for?

During my 18-year career, the role that most shaped my understanding of technical and commercial risk was my tenure at Thermax as Group Head – Process & Proposal Engineering. I worked on customized biomass-fired boilers and heaters designed to meet client process requirements, fuel availability, budget, and performance expectations. The role involved evaluating technical feasibility, lifecycle performance, operating costs, and commercial competitiveness for diverse industrial projects. I was responsible for key decisions related to process design, equipment sizing, fuel efficiency, and proposal costing. This experience gave me strong exposure to balancing engineering reliability with practical commercial viability in energy projects.

Q2. Where have technologies like heat recovery or digital optimization delivered clear gains, and where do they fall short on ROI?

Technologies such as waste heat recovery and digital optimization have delivered strong gains in applications where sufficient temperature differential and stable operating conditions are available. In many industrial processes, they help reduce fuel consumption, improve energy efficiency, and support sustainability goals. However, in several cases, the actual commercial feasibility becomes challenging after detailed CAPEX and…