An Excellent Forbes Piece on Solar Power in India

When Blackstone invest $ 300 million in Moser Baer's solar projects in India, they know that there is money to be made.

There has been considerable positive news coming out about the rush to tap solar power in India. And nothing looks at the business better than scrutiny by business magazines - these are, after all, magazines that look at where money is being made and where the potential exists for wealthy people to make even more money. And that illustrates something that this blog has been talking about for a long time: that there is money to be made in clean energy.

The plus is that India is beginning to understand this. I hope that other countries in South Asia, all of whom share India's climatic conditions, also recognize this fact.

Forbes: Over the Next 7 Years, 50% of India's Coal Will come from Overseas

This is an article that offers both promise as well as some major cautions: Forbes magazine takes a close look at the fact that 50% of India's coal is going to be imported about 7 years from now. On the most basic level, this means $ 40 billion a year lost in foreign exchange because of this terrible addiction. Look a little beyond that, and it means much worse - not only is this money going up, quite literally, in smoke, this also means that the air is going to be polluted with sulfur and carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide at the very least, water drawn to cool the coal based powerplants will also be contaminated and when this water is released into the sea or into the river system, some of the contaminants will return to contaminate the soil in the country. A frightening state of affairs to say the very least.

I am not sure what can be done - motivated "experts" like the stupid N N Sachitanand whom I have talked about here, have been touting nonsense about some renewable energy technologies which are being successfully used elsewhere. India has a huge coastline which makes offshore wind a very real and viable possibility. The country is bathed in sunlight and this is, fortunately, an area where the government is doing something - the 13th Plan is looking hard at addressing the deficiency in installed solar capacity. As the country grows to be more prosperous, it is going to require more power. Hopefully, India will wean itself from its coal addiction asap. This is a direction that is not going to end in a comfortable journey, wherever it takes the country.

Forbes Comes Away Impressed with Clean Tech Startups in India

Some positive news here: when a hard nosed business publication like Forbes comes away impressed with clean tech startups in India as this article suggests, you know that progress is being made and in a viable manner. Personally, I think it is important to have environmentally sound solutions but that it is also possible to make these profitable. No, I am not a socialist and I am not interested in the stupidity of throwing good money at "solutions" that may or may not work. it is especially encouraging to me to see that one of the toughest business journals in the most firmly capitalist country in the world is impressed with Indian clean tech companies. This means that these companies will succeed - and that means not just that they will make a profit, but that they will do this while keeping the environment cleaner.

This is a great start, India! Please don't fall back after beginning well!

PS There's one more related article that is equally worth reading if you enjoy this post.

Cheers!

Since India Seems Committed to Jatropha Cultivation, This May be of Interest

An interesting Forbes perspective on Jatropha which has been regarded as a miracle crop of sorts in India: Link. On the one hand, traditional Jatropha may not be the miracle crop that it is cracked up to be. On the other hand, with hybridization, it may be possible to tailor Jatropha varieties for the various different soils and environments that it is grown in.

I do wish that the Indian government would pay more attention to this than to inflicting third rate junk like Bt Brinjal on the nation!

PS SG Biofuels's website is: Link. Hopefully, some company in India ties up with them soon!