Bharata Mata College in Kochi, India Goes 100% Solar

I just saw this piece of delightful weekend news and had to post to this blog, after ignoring it for a long time: A College called Bharata Mata College in the city of Kochi (Cochin) India has gone 100% solar for it's own power needs. As India is a countyry that receives sunlight across it's length and breadth for more than 12 hours a day for 325+ days a year, this is an example that every single educational institution in the country could emulate. Not only would it help reduce power costs in a country with extremely expensive electricity, it would also help reduce pollution in one of the most polluted nations in the world. Well done, Bharata Mata College! Thank you for setting a fantastic example!

Well Done, Bandra Reclamation Residents!

India's "Mid-Day" newspaper has this feature about a group of residents at Mumbai's Bandra Reclamation, who have decided to compost all of their food waste, and convert it into organic fertilizer for plants and grass in their common areas. Seeing this initiative, residents at a neighboring community have decided to do the same thing. May their tribe increase! Hopefully, every community / colony / quarters / barracks etc in India will do something similar. Well done! Here's wishing you much success!

Excellent Article in The Deccan Chronicle - Come On, India, Take This Challenge Up!

India is a country where most parts get well over 6 hours of sunshine a day for 300 plus days a year. There is huge potential in the country to not only generate electricity using the light of the sun, but also to cut down sharply on hydrocarbon fuel imports, of which India is one of the biggest in the world. The positive thing about this is that current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a huge supporter of solar power. He is also someone who loves a challenge. Hopefully, this will ensure that he takes the challenge of doing what Chile is doing wholeheartedly, and brings India to the very top among nations generating electricity from the light of the sun!

Popular Mechanics Endorses India's "Solar Canals"

They've been discussed extensively in the Indian media, but we now have a prominent US magazine discussing solar canals. The state of Gujarat is a dry and water starved state, with much of it desert. The Sun Edison engineered canals have the dual advantage of generating clean electricity while shielding the meager water resources of the state from evaporation. A simple, and yet sophisticated and effective idea.

Koyambedu Biogas Plant - Well Done, India!

The Koyambedu Wholesale Market is not far from the apartment where I last lived in India, before I moved to the US. I remember riding past the site regularly, long before construction even started, as well as buying groceries farmer-direct after it opened, at hugely discounted prices over retail markets in Vadapalani, T. Nagar, and other parts of Chennai. Now, the waste from Koyambedu will be processed into Syngas, which would be supplied to homes in the fast growing neighborhood. I sincerely hope that this is a trend. Using waste productively, is a great way for poor nations like India to save money. The added bonus of keeping the streets cleaner, would be the icing on the cake. Well done! Hope other cities and markets in the country follow this example!

Hey, India, Check This Out

India and Britain consider themselves close allies. They ought to work on using the huge amounts of sewage in India to run better public transport. Whoever manages to do this, will also become very, very wealthy, as sewage is a constantly renewable resource. With the strong rapport between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi of India and David Cameron of the UK, this is a technology that both Britain and India should try to implement as quickly as possible. I lived with my parents at the Old Tower Block in Madras for many years, and remember watching in despair as the Adyar River became a sewage carrying, stinking mess. Madras also has the Cooum, aka the Buckingham Canal, which is even filthier, though there still were benches along its banks in Egmore along Commander in Chief Road, to remind us of a time when people took boats down it for pleasure. All that poop could power a lot of buses and save huge amounts of foreign exchange for India. Hopefully, someone in New Delhi and London is watching this new technology, and planning to do a lot with it. Do check out the fantastic Geneco UK website. And, do subscribe to their Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

India's First Net Zero Energy Building - I Am Not Convinced

India's "The Hindu" newspaper has a story about what is claimed to be India's first Net-Zero Energy Building. While I am not clear if the building in question has been certified by an external and independent agency to be Net-Zero, if, indeed, this is truly Net-Zero, then it is a remarkable achievement. I am not entirely convinced that this is the case, though, when you have a 930 kW peak power solar generation capacity in a 31,488 Sq Meter building with "robotic parking" and central HVAC system. Something, somewhere, is amiss. That said, if this does spark off an interest in actually building net-zero structures in India, it would be fantastic. Right now, I do think this is hype, not fact. I shudder to think of how this will end up making India a butt of jokes for a while, when experts investigate this and find the claim to have a lot of Blue Sky to it.

Bullitt Center in Seattle - A Building that Generates Twice the Electricity That it Consumes

Solar Today magazine has this article about the Bullitt Center, a high tech building that generates twice as much electricity as it consumes. Seattle, as the article points out, is cloud-swept most of the year. Just think of the potential in countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where electricity is in short supply most of the year. Think also about the fact that these countries receive more than 6 hours of sunshine a day, for more than 325 days a year. It is stupid of the authorities to not look at infrastructure of this kind . . .

Smart Planet: The Cost of Pollution in India? $ 80 Billion a Year . . .

Smart Planet is a great website / blog that I often link to, and it is one that I read regularly. This is one of the reasons why - the site quotes a World Bank report that evaluates the cost of pollution in India. Many of the costs of pollution are not easily counted, but it is not difficult to see where they would affect people directly. For example, increased health issues due to exposure to pollutants can put severe strain on societies as they have to deal with sharply higher medical bills. Secondly, when water, soil and the air are dirty, it affects agricultural output, making food more expensive. And the list goes on . . . Do check both the Smart Planet piece and the World Bank report out at this link.

Smart Planet: If Airports in Tennessee could Save so much Power by Going Solar, Imagine How much Indian Airports CoSuld Save

mart Planet has this piece about the Chattanooga Airport in the beautiful state of Tennessee saving 90,000 kWh of power in a year by putting up 4.5 acres of solar panels over the airport. I am guessing that these are early generation solar PVs - the latest from Semprius Solar are three times as efficient. Just imagine how much electricity could be saved, how much pollution could be reduced from the thermal powerplants that generate power in India, and how much less load shedding there would be in the rest of the country because of power saved, if this readily available technology were used more often. Large government buildings could also be an excellent mounting platform for these PVs for even more power savings. And, of course, there are the new private sector buildings - software parks, malls, large apartment condominiums and so on. The potential is immense. Someone is going to show some initiative one of these days and do something good. My guess is that whoever this first mover is, is going to end up laughing all the way to the bank. If I were to bet on a company to do this, my bet would be on the Tatas. Let's see where this goes . . .

Ecogeek: Japanese Solar Panel Owners earned $ 1.2 Billion Last Year

There's a lesson in this for India, a country that is bathed in sunshine for well over 300 days a year in most cities - the Ecogeek website shows how profitable solar panels have been for Japanese adopters. There was a time when these panels were expensive and they would have been out of the budget of the average Indian home or even business, but prices have been falling as companies across the world build more of these and engineers devise clever ways to produce them more cheaply from month to month. India used to offer some of the world's best subsidies for installing solar panels, solar water heaters and other solar powered equipment. I have no idea what the laws are like now. However, the simple thing to consider is that every new mall, every new apartment block, every new hotel and every government building has vast areas on the roof which could be covered with solar panels. I also feel that if India becomes serious about going solar, more companies will compete for Indian business and bring prices down even more. With much of India facing severe electric supply shortages on a daily basis, this may be one way to address the generation and distribution issues across the country. If there is surplus power, it could be fed back into the grid as happens in Japan, and that would mean surplus cash every year for those who invest in these panels. Win-win and there's no catch - what's not to like in this?

India Plans to Allow Jet Fuel Imports When there is Abundant Raw Material Available to Manufacture it Locally

Trust New Delhi to do things bass-ackwards, to modify a term not normally used in polite company. The UAE based newspaper Khaleej Times has this piece about India allowing airlines to import Jet Fuel. If the Government of India had looked, it would have found that the US Air Force recently contracted to buy Jet Fuel from this Texas company, Terrabon Inc, which produces it from food waste and sewage. The Terrabon process has been under development at Texas A and M University for a long time and the company now have viable products both for cars and for jet aircraft. Their process converts sewage and food waste into a Synthetic Crude which can be refined into the final product. And, the prices are slightly higher than those for gasoline or jet fuel made from crude, but, in the case of a country like India with 1.1 billion people, there is always going to be enough sewage to offer an economy of scale to make this vastly more viable than in the USA. Indians live in vastly more crowded circumstances as well, making the collection of the sewage for processing far easier than in a huge country like the USA where distances are far greater and concentrations of people much smaller.

I wish New Delhi - or even a state government - takes the initiative to invite Terrabon to use their technology to turn the completely useless sewage into usable fuel. If the richest country in the world uses this technology to try and save money, there's no reason why the world's poorest country shouldn't do this as well.

A Fantastic New Project in India

Stadia are places that consume a lot of energy - the lighting, the large television screens and the people, their refreshments that must be transported in etc all add to the amount of energy used and the costs. But they do serve a very important social purpose - sports bring people from different nations together and promote friendship between nations (including those that might be politically hostile to each other) and they also promote a positive sense of identity between the citizens of a nation, supporters of a particular team and more. By extension, sports keep people who may not otherwise be inspired to exercise to participate in games at their own personal level, encouraging people to become fitter by getting them off their couches and outdoors from inside their homes to breathe in fresh air. All very laudable, and worthy of support.

So when a piece of news like this comes to us via Inhabitat, a leading blog on environment friendly architecture, there is a reason for all Indians to feel proud. I am not sure if this Solar Powered Piezo-Electric stadium is the first of its kind in the world, but, if, indeed it is, then India is to be hailed for a world first. Even if it is not, it is something to be proud of because, in a sports crazy country like India where energy costs are high and where most parts of the country receive more than 300 days of sunshine in a year, this is an example that will be replicated. A fantastic beginning to say the least and one that I hope will also be replicated across the region in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc where sports are as big a draw.

And, of course, if you like this post, you might want to subscribe to Inhabitat at I also list it among the blogs that I enjoy reading right here.

Jairam Ramesh: India Cannot Pollute its Way to Prosperity

As someone who has long watched India's politicians and who has had a particular interest in environmental policy in India, this blogger is continuously encouraged by the current Minister for the Environment, Mr Jairam Ramesh and his practical approach towards the environment in India. The Straits Times quotes the minister as saying that India cannot pollute its way to prosperity - thank you for pointing this out, Minister! These days a lot of specious argument coming from some vested quarters suggests that dirt and prosperity somehow go together. Thank you for opposing their propaganda with facts. As a huge country with a lot of people living in close proximity to each other, India does have terrible problems with environmental pollution especially in its cities. As prosperity spreads to the rural areas, this is a matter of concern across the country. There is a need to ensure that development and progress takes place and that this happens while the environment is preserved and kept clean for enjoyment by everyone. With care, this can be done. Please keep up the good work!

50% suffer kidney ailments | Deccan Chronicle | 2010-04-21

50% suffer kidney ailments | Deccan Chronicle | 2010-04-21

One more extreme horror from Andhra Pradesh that has implications far beyond the farmers and their families who are suffering from kidney ailments due to an overuse of pesticides. I wonder if those who eat this rice well beyond Andhra's borders are aware of what they are consuming as well? Or, if there are studies that show how many people are infected with these dangerous pesticides as consumers in the end? Thanks to the Deccan Chronicle for highlighting this fact in India. Under normal circumstances, the first that any Indian would have heard about this would have been when some Wessetrn country decided to ban Sona Masuri or some other type of rice grown in Andhra from sale and importation.

In India, the law allows "permissible quantities" of rat shit to be included in rice that is sold for human consumption. My guess is that the Food Ministry (whose head seems more interested in furthering his daughter's political career and in running the cricket board than in ensuring that food in India is safe) simply doesn't care about this slow poisoning of the Indian population.

Shame on you, Government of India! The Indian people deserve better!

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!

Geneva 2010: Tata debuts Nano EV concept

Geneva 2010: Tata debuts Nano EV concept

Chalk one more hurrah up for the Tatas and their electric Nano. With Indian streets stinking of the smell of untreated exhausts from many millions of old vehicles and with the ever increasing prices of fuel in India whenever some silly sheikh decides to build himself a new palace or acquire a new harem, this car could address two very important needs: use less imported fuel and pollute less. Unfortunately, there are problems and these are not related to the car itself: India's power sector is pathetic and many places including the capital suffer from power shortages for several hours a day. Unless this is addressed, the Nano Enectric will only work well in cities like Mumbai and Pune which have decent electric utilities. Hopefully, though, India will address the power issue - I have friends who work in the infrastructure sector talk about possibly as much as Rs 50,000 crores in new investments in powerplants. Hopefully, these will not be coal-burning plants which need imported coal.

In any case, a leading private sector company in India is doing a great job. Cheers for the Tatas for producing an electric car that is suited to the Indian marketplace. I doubt that any of the foreign companies which have set up shop in India would invest the time and the money to come up with something like this. India will have to look for Indian solutions to Indian problems, eventually. This is as good a beginning as is possible.

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!

CTBUH 2010 Conference in India

I have had some correspondence with a young Indian engineering student, Avadhut Joshi, on some forums and he has sent me details of a conference on "Remaking Sustainable Cities in the Vertical Age" conducted by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. India is a large country but with an enormous population, it has no choice but to build skywards. People need homes and as the country becomes steadily more affluent,

In recent weeks there has been some very good news coming out of India and I think this is really good stuff. The website does not talk about who the exhibitors will be at the conference, but, whoever exhibits now, there is going to be a buzz about new technology in this field and that can only be a good thing. With interested young people in India looking at these very interesting areas, the future should be good.

My thanks to Avadhut for this information. I have requested him to write a report if he attends the conference. I shall feature it here with credit to him if he does find time to write it.