green signals
CLEANTECH: ENERGY FOR THE FUTURE India’s growth over the next decade will be driven by increase in population, infrastructure rollout, higher economic activity, increasing affluence and improved standards of living. By Amit Behl
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his growth will result in a substantial increase in the demand for power. Assuming energy to GDP elasticity of 1, India’s energy requirements are expected to more than double by 2020. With current electricity generation capacity of about 1,50,000 MW, the next decade will witness rapid investment in generation capacity from central, state and private sectors. With policy framework favoring public private partnerships, a quarter of this additional energy capacity is likely to be from the private sector. As the government tries to balance increasing energy requirements with a ballooning oil import bill, diversification and making non-carbon emitting resources an integral part of the energy mix will form the emphasis of policy makers. Renewable and clean technologies (Cleantech) will be a key part of India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change. Cleantech as a sector is extremely broad and diverse. From rural lighting applications like LED lighting, to water harvesting,
FOR A BETTER LIVING: Amit Behl 78 Entrepreneur + August 2010
distributed power generation, from hybrid vehicles to carbon credits, Cleantech is relevant to all existing industries, enabling new business opportunities. The growth prospects of this sector will attract leading Indian corporations, but niche, early stage companies can also make a successful play in this market. Below are examples of new business opportunities for entrepreneurs to consider:
ENERGY GENERATION The increasing demand/supply gap is attracting large private investment. The last few years have seen significant investments in wind energy deployments, with India now ranking among the top five wind energy generation countries in the world. Biomass and solar photovoltaic (PV) opportunities have also seen Indian companies commit financial resources to this form of energy generation. Most Indian PV cell and module manufacturing are predominantly focused on the export market. The recent economic turmoil led to a cooling off in oil prices, and brought the realization that Cleantech needs to achieve grid parity and become self-reliant quickly. The European crisis has raised further question marks over the favorable regime PV players enjoyed in Europe. Defensibility in this business is built through economies of scale.