Friday, August 8, 2008

The US Federal Government Becomes More Interested in Energy Saving Buildings

For all the nonsense I keep hearing from cushion-warmers every now and then telling me (and everyone else who thinks like I do, that saving energy is important and that reneewable energy is the way of the future) there is some very positive refutation of this skepticism by the Federal Government. And, this is in the world's wealthiest country, the USA. Countries in the rest of the world would do well to take note - like the USA or not, take it from me, this is going to be the way of the future. Forbes, my favorite business magazine because of the diverse range of subjects that it tackles, has this very interesting article about net-zero energy structures: http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/08/05/net-zero-energy-tech-sciences-cz_kad_0805netzero.html?partner=technology_newsletter

I wonder when India would look at building more energy-saving homes. The technologies required for this are available and the government ought to be encouraging Indian businesses to look at technical collaborations in this area instead of getting Indian companies to build ridiculous cars that are severely fuel-inefficient and which are only going to put the country even more in hock to the Middle East.

Before I end this post, there is another excellent link to a Forbes article about a country that they admire - Denmark. That country, Forbes points out, has something that the USA needs to look at: decentralized energy production. If the USA needs to look at this, then India needs to look at it even harder: http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/06/denmark-energy-electricity-biz-energy-cx_wp_0807power.html?partner=daily_newsletter

Best wishes!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here is an interesting article from the `Times of India` dated 13`th August 2008.It offers some hope and is a small step forward, though there is much to be done.

Around 500 residents of a Rajasthan village now have lighting from solar power, thanks to an initiative by international renewable energy major Conergy, in partnership with the Masonic Trust here.

All 98 homes, two temples and a school in Dewri Gowda village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district now have solar powered lighting, a total of 940 watts, a Conergy spokesperson said here on Tuesday.

The project is a part of Conergy Renewable Energy Village initiative, supported by India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Funding for the project was raised through a charity golf tournament last November.

Conergy India managing director Rajesh Bhat said: "Through our subsidiary SunTechnics, we have already installed several hundred renewable energy systems for environmentally-friendly solar power and thus improved the living standards of more than 100,000 people in 250 Indian villages.

"Till now, more than 13 per cent of the 600,000 remote villages in India lack electricity. Like Dewri Gowda, most are located in remote territory, which proves expensive and technologically-challenging for power supplied through a public grid. Off-grid renewable energy products such as solar-powered home and street lighting systems thus serve as affordable and efficient alternatives, while also being environment-friendly."

Venkittu Sundaram, chairman of the Lodge Elysium Masonic Trust and managing director of EPURON India, said: "India's potential for renewable energy projects far exceeds the current installed capacity. Of the current 144,913 megawatts of energy produced in India, only 8.4 per cent comes from renewable sources."

The initiative's advocate, former India cricket captain Kapil Dev, said: "Businesses and non-governmental organisations can play a key role in sustainable development. This act of commitment, dedication and compassion is both inspiring and also a role model for environmental leadership. We need to do more and I ask more organisations and businesses to follow this example."

Anonymous said...

The Government of India and the various State Governments have started taking an interest in solar energy.

Indian Govt offers 80% incentive to push solar power
Chennai, July 13. 2008 The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has fixed an interim tariff of Rs 3.15 a kWh for grid connected solar photovoltaic and solar thermal power generation plants.

The cost of generating 1 MW of power from a solar plant is Rs15-20 million.
asr: Rs. 20 million => 20/40 = $1/2 Milion => $500,000 ( as per indian estimate )


This will be the purchase rate at which the distribution licensee – the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board – will buy power from the solar power producers.

The order is significant in that this paves the way for the proposed grid connected solar power projects to get additional benefits offered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to promote solar power.

The Ministry will offer priority to those projects in the States where the State Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved or notified a tariff for solar power.

The Ministry, through the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, will provide a generation-based incentive of Rs 12 a kWh for solar photovoltaic projects and Rs 10 a kWh for solar thermal power generation projects eligible for such incentives. Only units that are commissioned before December 31, 2009 are fully eligible for this support.

Under this programme the Ministry plans to support installation of up to 50 MW of solar power projects. Projects with an aggregate capacity of up to 10 MW in a State would be considered for the incentive. Developers can set up a maximum aggregate capacity of 5 MW through a single project or multiple projects of at least 1 MW each.

The incentive offered is to develop and demonstrate the technical performance of grid interactive solar power generation and reduce cost of the grid connected solar power generation.

mehulkamdar said...

Mohan,

The Tamil Nadu Government's tariff is crap - the Government of Haryana pays Rs 15.96 per unit for power generated through solar energy. Here is a link: http://www.financialexpress.com/printer/news/307579/

Tamil Nadu is going to continue to reel with power problems, please take this from me. No one can talk sense to the politicians in Fort St George.