Alternative Energy | Green World Investor

ToughStuff to sell Durable Solar Panels to African Poor under Business Call to Action (Bcta) by UN Development Programme

24 Feb, 2012

Solar Energy is one of the best ways to bring energy to the disenfranchised poor in Africa and Asia which have no access to electricity and energy. Note Solar Panel prices have fallen by almost 90% in the last 4-5 years making solar energy much more accessible to the poor . Solar Panels can be now be bought at less than $200 which makes them affordable to large sections of the poor. They having stopped costing a ton in subsidy money given the low prices. Besides massive capacities exist in China and other places in Asia which can churn out solar panels in the hundreds of millions.

New innovative financing companies are selling solar panels in USA and other places to take advantage of the growing solar energy affordability. A company called ToughStuff is making a plan to sell solar panels which are tough and durable to poor in 14 countries in Africa and Asia. The company will do so under the Business Call to Action (Bcta) supported by UN Development Programme .Note the poor in these countries have to depend on biomass and kerosene energy which are highly polluting besides being costly. Replacing them with solar panels will make it not only climate friendly but also lead to cost savings. In India there are already a number of companies like D.Light and Orb Energy which are involved in such initiatives.Solar Lamps in India are replacing Kerosene a dirty oil refined product is the main source of energy for millions of Indian citizens

Millions of people to receive solar energy access through UN-backed initiative

A Mauritius-based company announced today that it will provide access to low-cost solar energy for 33 million people in Africa and Asia for the next four years, as part of a United Nations-backed initiative to fight poverty.

The solar energy provider, ToughStuff, will expand access to low-cost, durable solar panels and solar battery packs to low-income communities in 10 African countries (Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and four South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal).“Companies like ToughStuff invest in communities by providing cleaner, healthier energy options through core business operations,” said Susan Chaffin, programme manager for BCtA. “This commitment will help to boost development and improve social equity in a sustainable way that is good for the environment and good for business.”

List of Earth’s Largest Wind Energy Countries – China Leads with 60 GW of Wind Electricity Capacity

16 Feb, 2012

Wind Energy

Wind Energy is the largest renewable energy source in the globe right now (if you don’t count in hydro and nuclear energy). The total installed wind energy capacity exceeds the solar and biomass capacity by quite a margin at over 200 GW . The recent surge in wind energy installations has been from China which put up almost 40-50% of the global wind turbine installations in 2010 and 2011. Now China has surpassed every other country to become the largest wind energy country in the world with over 60 GW. While Europe earlier led by Spain, Denamark and Germany used to lead in wind capacity, they have been comprehensively overtaken by the Middle Kingdom in the last couple of years. USA comes in next but still far below its potential while the rest of the world has started to pick up now. India is the 5th largest country and has been steadily putting up around 2-3 GW of wind capacity each year.

Solar Energy has grown tremendously in the last few years as prices have fallen drastically. At 26-27 GW it is only 40% behind wind and should overtake it in the next few years. Unlike Wind Energy, Solar Energy can be installed on roofs and the prices are falling much faster. China which has the most hydroelectric capacity in the world,leads in wind as well. It remains a matter of time before China overtakes Germany in Solar Energy as well.

Top 10 Countries Wind Electricity Capacity

China 62,733 MW
United States 46,919 MW
Germany 29,060 MW
Spain 21,674 MW.
India 16,084 MW
France 6,800 MW
Italy 6,747 MW
UK 6,540 MW
Canada 5,265 MW
Portugal 4,083 MW.

The next wave of wind energy growth is expected to come from

a) Offshore Wind Energy growth in Developed countries particularly in Europe

Offshore Wind Energy has been foretasted from around 3 GW to 75 GW by 2020 as countries in Europe,Asia and North America heavily support this industry.Onshore wind energy growth on the other hand is expected to slow down as 38 GW of Wind Capacity were installed in 2010 with Western Markets showing a sharp slowdown.Offshore Wind is seeing increasing growth as government heavily subsidize and support Offshore Wind Energy.Though the costs of offshore wind parks are much higher today,they will decrease as the installed offshore wind capacity increases from around 3 GW today to around 75 GW which is being foretasted globally by 2020.

b) Further development of Wind Energy in Developing Countries particularly South America and Asia. China intends to keep building around 25 GW of wind capacity each year to keep up with its skyrocketing energy demand growth

China adds around 100 GW of Electric Power Capacity each year to meet the growing energy demands of its population. Most of it is thermal power which is becoming costlier besides the dangerous disadvantages of coal. China has been trying to increase its hydro and nuclear power capacity, but nuclear energy has received a setback with Fukushima. Solar Power in China is also increasing but it will take time as well to satisfy the electricity deficit. China is already the largest wind power market in the world installing almost 50% of the wind capacity in 2010.I t intends to keep up the furious pace of wind turbine installations at around 25 GW per year for the next 35 years to reach 1000 GW by 2050.

Electricity Generating Capacity by Country

The world’s total electricity generating capacity is around 4500 GW (2007 figures) which is expected to increase by 1.7% each year to rise to 7000 GW by 2035 according to EIA.USA is still the world’s largest electricity producing country with more than 20% of the world’s power capacity with around 1 Terawatts of Electricity Capacity.China has been rapidly adding capacity in the last decade and the second biggest electricity producing country with more than 700 GW

USA 995 GW
China 716 GW
Japan 279 GW
Russia 221 GW
India 159 GW
Germany 140 GW
Canada 125 GW
Brazil 100 GW
South Korea 79 GW

India’s Consumer Companies enter Lucrative Solar Products Business

30 Jan, 2012

Energy,Solar Energy

The Solar Products Business is booming not only from the Solar Power Plants but also in consumer products business. So not are big conglomerates like Mahindra, GMR , Reliance getting into the lucrative booming solar power in India, but now water purifier companies in India are too getting into the act. India’s biggest water purifying company Eureak Forbes which is found in almost every Indian home is going to start selling solar lighting products like torches and lanterns.

The company is going to market solar products under the “EuroDiya” brandname . Diya means Light in Hindi and Euro is the company’s brand. The products are to be sold in the $10-50 range with the technology and products coming from a US company. Note solar consumer products have a massive potential in a country where almost 40% do not have access to a power grid.

Note Solar Lamps can compete economically with substitutes like kerosene lamps which don’t only consumer costly fossil fuels but generate pollution as well. Other companies like D.Light already have a strong presence in the solar lamps business.

Solar Lamps or Solar Lanterns have seen astounding growth in India driven mainly by the lack of access to electricity and the high costs of Kerosene or gas lamps.Note Solar Lamps have been so successful in India mainly due to their economic utility rather than their Green Characteristics.Note 100,000 Indian villages do not yet have electricity which means that the productivity comes to a complete stop in the dark.Poor schoolchildren cannot study in the dark and people cannot work in the night either.Note Kerosene a dirty oil refined product is the main source of energy for millions of Indian citizens.Kerosene is a health hazard resulting in accidental fires and causing a lot of smoke which can lead to various respiratory diseases.Note Kerosene is subsidized by the Indian government and distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS) which is a massively corrupt and inefficient system.The Kerosene is given in limited quantities and is not sufficient to Light the Darkness for a month or more.The advent of Solar LED Lamps has been a godsend solution to this problem.

Indian Conglomerates entering Solar Energy

The Indian Solar Power has been one bright spot in the gloomy infrastructure and engineering sectors in 2011. With share prices crashing with growing corruption, land acquisition and financing problems, Solar Energy has surged in India thanks to government support and subsidies . While a number of Green Technology companies have started up to capitalize on the growing renewable energy trend, the established construction companies in India have not been far behind . While utilities like Tata Power, Adani, Reliance Power, NTPC have already built or are setting up power plants based on solar panels , L&T has become a major solar EPC players . L&T is now raising debt with a $100 million issue to fund its solar expansion plans .

Water Purifier Manufactuers in India

List of Water Purifying Manufacturers/Suppliers/Companies in India

Kent Technologies – Kent purifiers are trusted by over 1 million customers spread across the country and have an established track record of over a decade in the water purification industry. The company is a pioneer in bringing revolutionary Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology to India. KENT started its operations in India in 1999 & is today a strong organization with offices spread across India. KENT has lakhs of satisfied customers to its credit worldwide. Kent offers varied range of products for any application – mineral RO, UF gravity, UV technology & UF tap water purifiers. Be it entry level purifier to technology driven high capacity commercial purifiers. They have two production facilities located in Uttaranchal.

Eureka Forbes – is a part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and today it is a 12 billion INR, multi product and multi channel corporation.It started operations in 1982, & today have become the undisputed leaders in domestic and industrial Water Purification Systems, Vacuum Cleaners, Air Purifiers & Security Solutions. It is one of Asia’s largest direct sales organization. It serves more than 131 cities and 398 towns across the country. Eureka provides different ranges of:Domestic water purifiers Aquaguard – UV, RO, UF, UV+RO+UF, Aquasure – RO, UV, storage & Heavy metal remover & Institutional water purifiers.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. – HUL is India’s largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company with categorised business like soaps, detergents, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea, coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water purifiers. With a market capitalization of Rs. 61,000 crores, the Company is a part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India. The company earned revenues of Rs. 5,000 crores with a net profit margin 12%. Its parent company is Unilever, which holds about 52 % of the equity. Its portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Vaseline, Lakmé, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Wall’s and Pureit.Pureit’s unique Germkill Battery technology kills all harmful viruses and bacteria and removes parasites and pesticide impurities, giving micro-biologically safe drinking water (meets the regulations by the EPA in USA). It does not need gas, electricity or continuous tap water supply. It makes the water clear, odourless and good-tasting.This technology was developed by HUL, by a team of over 100 Indian and international experts from HUL and Unilever Research Centres.

Distribution is the Biggest Challenge to spread of Solar Products in India

9 Jan, 2012

Energy,Solar Energy

One of the biggest growth markets for solar products is India due to the fact that it has

a) One of the biggest energy deficits in the world with one of the lowest per capita energy consumption

b) Millons of citizens don’t have access to Electricity and the Power Grid

A number of Solar Companies in India have come out with innovative products like solar lamps and lanterns which combine a solar panel with a battery and a LED light to sell in rural areas. Note many of the villages are dark after night without any access to power. With more than half of the population living on less than $2 a day,people can’t afford expensive solar lighting products as well. So many companies have come out with low cost products like D.Light, Duron,O rb Energy and others.

However distribution into the millions of villages remains the biggest hurdle even if the people there can afford the products.T here are no good roads and the smaller solar companies lack the marketing muscle of say a big MNC like Hindustan Lever and ITC.People have tried to sell solar products using the microfinance companies but have not had much success as of now.India’s government has also pushed some small subsidy schemes but the red tape and the off and on nature has meant failure.

Solar Lamps or Solar Lanterns have seen astounding growth in India driven mainly by the lack of access to electricity and the high costs of Kerosene or gas lamps.Note Solar Lamps have been so successful in India mainly due to their economic utility rather than their Green Characteristics.Note 100,000 Indian villages do not yet have electricity which means that the productivity comes to a complete stop in the dark.Poor schoolchildren cannot study in the dark and people cannot work in the night either.Note Kerosene a dirty oil refined product is the main source of energy for millions of Indian citizens.Kerosene is a health hazard resulting in accidental fires and causing a lot of smoke which can lead to various respiratory diseases.Note Kerosene is subsidized by the Indian government and distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS) which is a massively corrupt and inefficient system.The Kerosene is given in limited quantities and is not sufficient to Light the Darkness for a month or more.The advent of Solar LED Lamps has been a godsend solution to this problem.

Read on how to Buy Solar Panels in India

Green Energy Projects in India preferred by Debt Syndicators over Thermal Power

7 Jan, 2012

Energy,Green Investing,Renewable Energy

Green Energy Projects in India have become more preferred for debt lenders than the conventional thermal power projects.See below for the problems besetting India’s thermal power project developers. Note wind and solar power projects are seeing more interest from debt syndication lenders like IDFC, IL&FS because of the following reasons

a) Strong support from state and federal governments which are going all out to support Renewable Energy through tax breaks,feed in tariffs,capital subsidy

b) Secure Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) by NVVN at even higher prices for green energy

c) No problems of fuel supply availability that plagues the coal and gas power plants in India

d) Lesser Environmental issues that beset the Coal Power and Nuclear Power Plants in India with local agitations

e) Land Acquisitions problems are also lower as solar and wind power plants don’t require prime land

Green Companies in India are increasing rapidly in all sectors like Solar Energy, Wind Power etc taking advantage of India’s massive energy deficit.

India’s Power Industry Woes

India’s Power Industry is in the most severe crisis since the sector was reformed and private power sector companies were allowed. India’s electricity companies which were considered as a great investment with fancied valuations have now found the going tough. A number of factors have converged to make the electricity industry go into the crisis mode. India faces a dark 2012 summer as the energy demand remains high and growing while power plants remain stuck due to absence of fuel and remunerative prices. ith the Indian banks also looking at debt defaults, the government is trying to come up with a new plan.

India faces a Long and Dark Summer in 2012 with its Electricity Industry in Shambles. The list of woes is almost non-ending and the government is the biggest culprit.Locked in a policy paralysis due to its corruption taint,the authorities have failed to move.Indian Electricity Companies too are facing losses and may even default on some project debt. The state distribution companies already have racked up billion of dollar in losses due to total mismanagement of tariffs and power theft. So the whole supply chain is in trouble with the Indian Banks also in trouble as they have lent billions to the power producers.

India is one of the biggest electricity consumers in the country.Despite massive demand,the supply is not coming up as the power plants are locked in litigation and protests by locals as well.Land acquisition has been a point of concern leading to deaths. Nuclear Power Plants in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are not being built due to Fukushima dangers. Hydro Power Plants too face problems as people are concerned about the environmental impact. Coal India the monopoly producer has nto managed to meet targets.It keeps raising prices and lowering production while imported coal makes the electricity generated too costly to be sold.

India Faces Dark Summer in 2012 with Prices Spiral,Fuel Shortages,Local Agitation,Producer Losses

3 Jan, 2012

Energy

India faces a Long and Dark Summer in 2012 with its Electricity Industry in Shambles.The list of woes is almost non-ending and the government is the biggest culprit.Locked in a policy paralysis due to its corruption taint,the authorities have failed to move.Indian Electricity Companies too are facing losses and may even default on some project debt.The state distribution companies already have racked up billion of dollar in losses due to total mismanagement of tariffs and power theft.So the whole supply chain is in trouble with the Indian Banks also in trouble as they have lent billions to the power producers.

India is one of the biggest electricity consumers in the country.Despite massive demand,the supply is not coming up as the power plants are locked in litigation and protests by locals as well.Land acquisition has been a point of concern leading to deaths.Nuclear Power Plants in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are not being built due to Fukushima dangers.Hydro Power Plants too face problems as people are concerned about the environmental impact. Coal India the monopoly producer has nto managed to meet targets.It keeps raising prices and lowering production while imported coal makes the electricity generated too costly to be sold.

Indian Private Power Companies Cry for a Bailout,Want Socialization of Their Losses

Indian Electricity Companies are crying for a bailout from the government after coal prices surged last year amidst shortages of coal.Note before the Lehman crisis,Indian private power producers were riding a boom equivalent to a mini tech bubble trading at crazy valuations.The reason was that the Indian government had opened the Electricity sector to the private players resulting in them winning contracts for 42 GW most of which were thermal power plants.At that time coal prices were quite low and there was no threat of shortages with India’s government owned Coal India providing secure long term contracts at cheap.The future looked great for companies like Reliance Power which came out with the biggest IPO in the Indian stock market history.Private companies were busy planning on setting up supercritical mega power plants of 4 GW capacity.

Nuclear Power in India Issues – High Costs,Health Hazards,Massive Delays and Not in My Backyard Protests

NIMBY Protests Growing

Rawatbhata Nuclear Power Plant in Rajasthan is situated near a major dam which makes it susceptible to major flooding.Besides the villages near the plant have reported higher incidences of abortion and cancer which is typical of radiation effect of human health.A new plant being proposed in Bhavnagar,Gujarat too is seeing protests being organized by villages near the plant.

Nuclear Plants face massive cost overruns

New Nuclear Power Plants face massive delays leading to much higher costs as rule and regulations become tougher.The Nuclear Power Already the nuclear renaissance which was supposed to be boosted by India and China is coming under attack.India’s nuclear power plant to be built at Jaitapur by Areva is seeing massive protests by local villagers as well as intellectuals alike.India has around 4.5 GW of Nuclear Power Plant Capacity which it proposes to increase by around 1-2 GW every year.This will hardly make a huge difference to India’s massive power needs which rerquires 10 GW of power every year.Nuclear Energy Disadvantages with the Tail Risk of a Meltdown are too huge to be ignored.