Courtesy: Wikipedia
Village-scale solar powered minigrids are the most promising path for India to meet its linked aims of GDP growth and access to electricity for all. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is already active on this front, but a comprehensive and standardised national minigrid policy that facilitates private sector involvement and eases financing, will allow this model to flourish
Courtesy: COP Paris / Flickr
COP21 could have spelled doom for India’s growth push if it had insisted on a peak emissions year for all participants, or spelled out explicit restrictions on coal. It has done neither, and continues to recognise the principle of differentiated responsibilities
Courtesy: Victor Dubreuil / Wikipedia
The GCC finds itself engulfed by a perfect storm – due to the oil price fall and the re-emergence of Iran on the world scene. While the GCC is forced to undertake politically challenging reforms and confront the regional challenge of Iran, there lies a great opportunity for India to strengthen their economic as well as security ties.
Courtesy: Risingpowersinitiative.org
Iran has emerged on to the world stage after 36 years of isolation. India must double up its diplomacy and commercial engagement with Iran, and move boldly beyond the curtain of ‘civilisational’ ties. Time to put that natural advantage to good commercial use through a vigorous private sector engagement with Tehran.
Courtesy: MEA India / Flickr
An unspoken war has been waged between India and the U.S. at the COP21 Summit in Paris. If the West wants India to opt for more expensive energy options, then they must also reciprocate by sharing technology.
Courtesy: Sass Peress / Wikipedia
The Climate Conference in Paris offers the globe a chance to arrive at a firm action plan—and underpinning this chance are advances in solar and electric vehicles technology. If the Paris talks focus on making such technology and related finance available to countries like India, we can move closer to achieving climate goals
Courtesy: MEA Flickr
The strategic and geopolitical importance of Iran’s Chabahar Port is not lost on India. It is for this reason that India is keen to partner with Iran on investing in developing berths at the Port. Although the relationship between the two have had its ups and downs, it is time that with a nuclear deal in place between Iran and the P5+1, India realises that it has much more at stake in its relationship with Tehran.
Courtesy: Pixabay
Solar power developers have offered to sell electricity in India at less than Rs 5/unit. This makes solar competitive with traditional forms of energy, and makes new nuclear power plants financially unviable. India must register the changed reality, and discard the idea of expensive Western reactors. Time to scrap the India-U.S. nuclear deal?
Courtesy: epSos.de / Flickr
Developments in electric vehicles, battery technology, and renewable energy can make oil, coal, nuclear power interchangeable, if the appropriate technology is developed and marketed well. And since the benefits include a permanent cap on energy prices, India must promote its own industries in these areas and not remain a passive beneficiary.
Courtesy: Pixabay
Even as India and Germany move ahead on energy cooperation, India-U.S. energy collaboration is stranded in the three key areas: nuclear power, shale gas, and solar energy. But with cheaper energy imports due to the fall in fossil fuel prices over the past 12 months, India can wait till it gets a better deal from the U.S.