Mainstream Media Content Scraping Stupidity – Linking Indian Skyscrapers with Economic Crashes

11 Jan, 2012
Indian Markets,Telecommunications

Mainstream Media gets more and more stupid by the day . Indian mainstream media organizations are going crazy linking the building of skyscrapers in India to a coming economic crash. Note there is a popular theory that the building of highest skyscrapers leads to economic crashes in the future. There are cases of this happening Chicago in 1930 and the Burj Dubai in the 2000s .However portraying this as definite proof and linking is highly stupid to say the least without examining the full facts

Popular Indian mainstream media organizations are spreading a report by Barclays that links the building of tall skyscrapers in India and China to an imminent crash in the economies of both . Note China has been building skyscrapers for a long time and the real estate downfall has already started . India is barely building 4-5 skyscrapers none will be the highest , so the Indian theory is even more specious. However the content scraping mainstream media outlets continue to propagate the story to the top of the news

The original story from Reuters

An “unhealthy correlation” exists between the construction of skyscrapers and financial crashes, according to a new report from Barclays Capital.The construction of the Empire State building in New York in 1930, along with towers in Kuala Lumpur in 1997 and Dubai in 2010 have all been followed by economic crises, the report noted.”Often the world’s tallest buildings are simply the edifice of a broader skyscraper building boom, reflecting a widespread misallocation of capital and an impending economic correction,” it said.

“The completion of Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in 1997 was followed by a region-wide economic crisis and the collapse of Asian currencies,” it added.Investors should pay special attention to China, the Skyscraper Index warns, as the “biggest bubble builder” is currently erecting 53 percent of the 124 skyscrapers planned over the next six years.China currently has 75 completed buildings above 240 metres in height.India has just completed two new skyscrapers, with 14 more already under construction.

Green Jobs in India to be driven by Real Estate and Construction Sector

11 Jan, 2012
Real Estate and Construction

Green Jobs in India is going to grow at a high double digit rate driven by the Real Estate and Construction Industry. The hiring will be done by Real Estate Companies in India looking for Energy Efficiency and Green Building professionals. Note the Green Industry globally has had a torrid 2011 with most of the major sectors like wind, solar, biofuels and lighting facing oversupply amidst slowing demand due to global macro problems. However the Green Industry has a great future driven by secular drivers like

a) Global Warming

b) Energy Security

c) Peak Oil

Real Estate in India is facing a Bubble and in general I have a bad opinion about the real estate developers and promoters. But this is one reason to be positive about the real estate industry in India . Note Green Buildings have become important not only from the planet point of view but also economically given the rising energy costs. Also LEED certified buildings command a higher valuation and rentals which drives the real estate protomers towards green buildings.

Why Green Buildings are Needed

Buildings account for a huge percentage of Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions.They also use a massive amount of Resources and are responsible for a majority of the Solid Waste.Here are some fact about Green Building from the EPA.

39 percent of total energy use
12 percent of the total water consumption
68 percent of total electricity consumption
38 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions

What are the 7  Elements of Green Buildings

Green Buildings are made up of 7 Elements which need to incorporated during the Design and Construction of Green Buildings.

  1. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  2. Water Efficiency
  3. Environmentally Preferable Building Materials and Specifications
  4. Waste Reduction
  5. Toxics Reduction
  6. Indoor Air Quality
  7. Smart Growth and Sustainable Development

According to an estimate from Jones Lang LeSalle, a real estate consultancy, there will be a demand for around 1,000 energy and sustainability professionals. Primarily dominated by engineers and architects, this opportunity could also attract people from more diverse fields, as the market opens up. “With the introduction of the LEED Green Associate accreditations last year by the GB Certification Institute, more professionals from diverse backgrounds are keen to consider this career option,” he says. All one needs is an endorsement from a LEED-accredited professional and preparation to take an online exam facilitated by Prometric, an online testing solutions provider.

100% Foreign Direct Investment in Single Brand Retail for India – Quick Guide and Summary

10 Jan, 2012
Indian Markets

The Indian government has allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Single Brand Retail Stores up from 51% earlier. Note earlier the government had tried to raise the investment limit in multi brand retail which would have boosted Wal-Mart, Tesco and others which have been trying to get into the lucrative Indian market for a long time. However stiff opposition from a number of Indian political parties had scuttled the move .The government has however moved in the Single Brand Retail which is not as contentious and poses as big a risk to the millions who work in India’s massive Retail Industry.

The Key Points of this legislation are

1)  Products by the global chains should be of ‘single brand’ only and be sold under the same brand internationally.

2) Mandatory sourcing of at least 30 per cent would have to be done from the domestic small and cottage industries which have a maximum investment in plant and machinery of $1 million (about Rs 5 crore).

3) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), up to 100 per cent, under the government approval route, would be permitted in single brand product retail trading

The companies which will benefit are big single brands from the West like Adidas,Nike who have not expanded aggressively in India due to the limited capital of its local partners which have a 49% stake. Now these big retail brands will be able to put in capital without limit to expand.

 

Indian Desert State Rajasthan Plans four gigawatt Solar Parks in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Barmer – Pipe Dream or Reality

10 Jan, 2012
Energy,Solar Energy

The Indian Desert State of Rajasthan in the West which borders Pakistan is planning to set up four gigawatt scale solar parks in 4 districts of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Barmer. Note under the first 2 phase of JNNSM , Rajasthan has got the lion’s share of the solar farms being constructed. The State of Solar Energy in India has been marked by stiff competition between some states like Gujarat, Rajasthan to take the top solar dog spot. The reasons why Rajasthan has managed to corner 80% of the JNSSM solar projects is because

a) Solar Radiation is the highest in the country

b) Land is cheap and plentiful in the state with the government literally given them for free to solar developers. A huge plus in a country where land acquisition is a big industrial problem

c) Support from the government in the form of getting power grid connections.

Rajasthan

The Desert State of Rajasthan has  seen an equal amount of interest by solar investors that Gujarat has.Though the government has not spelled out the Solar Subsidy Policy clearly as of now,it has got hundreds of megawatts in initial proposals from Solar Developers.The government their has given out large tracts of unused,desert land to solar developers in the western districts of Barmer,Jaisalmer which border Pakistan.The Renewable Energy Policy will probably be set out by the end of the year when these large projects can move forward to the next stage.Transparency and clarity in Policy like Gujarat will help Rajasthan go a long way in promoting Solar Energy.

Rajasthan has set up Renewable Energy Corporation Limited (RREC) to promote Solar Power in the state.

While the neighboring state of Gujarat too has been making a lot of headway attracting investment and developers, it has not got a lot of the federal solar projects. Gujarat however through its own state solar subsidy has made substantial progress. Gujarat has been the biggest promoter of Solar Energy in India amongst all the other states.The State has already implemented a clear and forward looking Renewable Energy Policy with emphasis on Solar Energy.It has signed PPAs with a number of solar project developers under its State Solar Subsidy Scheme.While other states are looking mainly towards the federal subsidy scheme JNNSM to push Solar Energy Generation,Gujarat is looking to push Solar Energy on its own.Gujarat now has reportedly acquired 3000 acres at Charnaka village in Patan District which it will give to solar project developers to install solar panels.In the First Phase of this projects,80 Developers will install 1-45 MW Solar Plants to generate 500 MW capacity.The next phase will feature another 500 MW of capacity.

Mahindra Solar One becomes a Serious Player in the Indian Solar Energy Space

10 Jan, 2012
Energy,Solar Energy

Mahdindra Solar One a JV between India’s biggest conglomerates the Mahindra Group and a PE backed startup Kiran Energy is setting itself to become one of the biggest players in India’s Solar Energy.Mahindra Group which has dominant Indian companies in the Automobile Industry,Information Technology has set up 3 subsidiares to operate in the following segments

a) Solar EPC

b) Off Grid Solar Solutions

c) Solar Power Generation

Note the missing part of the play is the solar cell and module manufacturing which is not a good segment to operate it anyway.The other major Indian solar companies like Tata,Moser Baer and others are present in the solar manufacturing as well.This has proved to be a loss making sector for all of them with utilization running at abysmal levels.Some of the Indian solar panel companies are asking for more protection from the governemtn against cheap Chinese solar panel imports.

Mahindra Solar One plans

 Mahindra Solar One, a joint venture between the Mahindra Group and Kiran Energy, plans to invest 1,000 crore in solar power generation to build a capacity of 100 megawatts over the next two years, continuing the trend of large business houses investing heavily in the sector. On Monday, the company announced the commissioning of its first grid-connected solar power unit of 5 mw in Rajasthan. M&M has forayed into the renewable space through Mahindra Cleantech Ventures, which has set up three divisions – Mahindra Solar for power generation, Mahindra EPC for engineering of solar projects and Mahindra Off-grid solutions that offers rooftop setups for solar power generation. We are keen to look at other renewable sources of energy but over the next 3-5 years, our focus would be solar power,” Mahindra said.

Indian Solar Photovoltaic Companies

Moser Baer – This is primarily a Solar Panel Production Company which has recently made a big bet to get into the Power Production Space as well.Moser Baer Projects Private in which the Blackstone Group made a $300 million bet  has plans of a 20:80 mix of Green and Dirty Power.

Solar Semiconductor - A Producer of Solar Power Modules and Cells. It has some operations in Solar Installation as well.

These companies are similar to Solar Semiconductor in having a small capacity to produce silicon based solar cells or solar panels or both.

IndoSolar

Topsun Solar

Titan Energy

PLG Power

Maharishi Solar

Kotak Urja

Solar Cables in India becomes a Big Business with Gigawatt Market

9 Jan, 2012
Energy,Solar Energy

Solar Power in India is growing by leaps and bounds with the federal and state governments heavily promoting solar energy production.India is set to become a gigawatt market in 2012 with around 400 MW already installed by 2011.The ancillary industries around the main solar power market are set to grow at a rapid clip as well.One of the unlikely sectors in solar products in India is the growth of solar cables.Note solar power plants require a lot of wire and cabling to connect thousands of solar panels to each other and to solar inverters.Besides solar power plants also require interconnection with the power grid.While today most of the solar cable is imported from outside,there is potential for a solar cable manufacturer to build a domestic capacity as well given the rapid growth expected in solar power.

State of Solar Energy In India

States are forging ahead to push Solar Energy on their own.Gujarat has been a trailblazer in this regard with The State has already received proposals for setting up around  365 MW of Solar Power.Gujarat through its own RPS and Feed in Tariff incentives is targeting 1000 MW by 2013.Rajasthan too is trying to exploit is massive solar insolation potential but its state policies have little clarity or direction yet.The state has signed around 1524 MW of Solar Project with 49 Developers.The Solar Policy Draft Proposal is mostly vague with a target of 10-12 GW  in 10-12 years with around 500 MW in the next 2-3 years.Rajasthan is set to see massive solar installation despite its government’s vagueness from the Federal JNNSM subsidy.Other states in India like UP,Delhi and Maharashtra have recently started making some moves but remains to be seen how good they are at implementing.Delhi seems to be on the way to implementing a smart policy of promoting small roof top solar residential installations.

Gujarat

Gujarat has been the biggest promoter of Solar Energy in India amongst all the other states.The State has already implemented a clear and forward looking Renewable Energy Policy with emphasis on Solar Energy.It has signed PPAs with a number of solar project developers under its State Solar Subsidy Scheme.While other states are looking mainly towards the federal subsidy scheme JNNSM to push Solar Energy Generation,Gujarat is looking to push Solar Energy on its own.Gujarat now has reportedly acquired 3000 acres at Charnaka village in Patan District which it will give to solar project developers to install solar panels.In the First Phase of this projects,80 Developers will install 1-45 MW Solar Plants to generate 500 MW capacity.The next phase will feature another 500 MW of capacity.

Rajasthan

The Desert State of Rajasthan has  seen an equal amount of interest by solar investors that Gujarat has.Though the government has not spelled out the Solar Subsidy Policy clearly as of now,it has got hundreds of megawatts in initial proposals from Solar Developers.The government their has given out large tracts of unused,desert land to solar developers in the western districts of Barmer,Jaisalmer which border Pakistan.The Renewable Energy Policy will probably be set out by the end of the year when these large projects can move forward to the next stage.Transparency and clarity in Policy like Gujarat will help Rajasthan go a long way in promoting Solar Energy.

Rajasthan has set up Renewable Energy Corporation Limited (RREC) to promote Solar Power in the state.The state has signed around 1524 MW of Solar Project with 49 Developers.The Solar Policy Draft Proposal is mostly vague with a target of 10-12 GW  in 10-12 years with around 500 MW in the next 2-3 years.There are little specifics with a proposal to invite bids for 100 MW of Solar Power divided equally between Solar Thermal and Solar PV.Besides the state has managed to migrate 66 MW of Solar Projects to the Federal JNNSM scheme

Uttar Pradesh

India’s largest state in terms of population suffers from the worst power cuts in the country with cities like Kanpur,Meerut,Agra facing brownouts of 8-10 hours on a regular basis.Having a diesel generator or a lead acid storage device is a must for households in these states making it a prime demand source for solar energy.The state recently came out with a tender for 100 MW of solar installations at a  electricity tariff of 4.74 rupees ($0.11) a kilowatt-hour.The EOI at the UPPCL website mentions a bundled/standalone rate for the solar power to be supplied.As it is evident no one can make money at this tariff from standalone it would mean bundling of solar with cheaper power sources.Again the EOI is vague and short on details with just 2 paragraphs.

Lapp sees big growth in India

Cable manufacturer Lapp India expects a significant jump in business from the emerging solar-energy sector.“Cables are a key component of solar panels and modules,” says Mr Srinivas P. Kamisetty, Managing Director. “With huge Government thrust and subsidies for solar energy, this sector has huge business potential for us.”The company expects business of €7-8 million this year from solar power plant installations in India. Last year, it was hardly €1 million.

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