There's no free lunch. This was what played in my mind when I read that India's three state-run oil marketing companies (IOC, BPCL and HPCL) are running up huge and unbearable deficits owing to their under-recoveries, and this might start straining the government's fiscal budget soon. Let's look at what's...

While I was at Singapore last week at the Renewable Energy Finance meet, Rex Reksniss of RECharge asked me about trends in offshore wind exploitation in India. I told him I did not expect anything to happen in offshore wind in India over the next few years, but he said...

I had the opportunity to be a speaker at the Renewable Energy Finance conference and seminar organized by IBC Asia at Singapore earlier this week. Originally I was asked to co-ordinate a workshop in which I would be meeting with a few people interested in investing in the Indian renewable...

It was nice to receive a note from Gaurav Trivedi, who runs Solarishi, a blog that provides good updates on solar energy in general and solar energy developments in Gujarat in particular. I like the fact he has taken time to pen each of the blog posts, with the result...

It was only a couple of days back I wrote that it will be silly to expect people from metros to stand in a queue to install solar panels on their rooftops when the power supply is fairly OK in most major metros and the payback period for solar panels...

Short Term Intensive Practical Training Program on Renewable Energy Systems Dates: 10 to 22 May 2010, Mumbai Organised by: Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Vidyavihar (East), Mumbai- 400077 in Association with Maharashtra Energy Development Agency. Who should attend Technicians and engineers involved in laboratory testing, installation,...

It was only yesterday I sent a long article in the EAI Newsletter on how renewable energy could become disruptive by focussing on underserved segments to begin with. In that, I had specifically mentioned mobile towers as one low-hanging candidate for solar PV. It was thus heartening to read a...

The following was the article I included in the recently dispatched newsletter. Thought I'd include it in the blog as well. How can renewable energy really become disruptive? I was reading a classic paper on disruptive business ideas from Clayton Christensen "Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive...

Cairn India has decided to initiate development of its Bhagyam field in Rajasthan. It intends to bore nine wells in  Aishwariya and 15 wells in Bhagyam. The venture is a JV between Cairn India (70%) and ONGC (30%). Cairn had recently revised its estimate of oil blocks in Rajasthan and...

In 2009, India consumed about 5% of world energy; However, by 2050, it is estimated that India could consume about one third (33%) of total world energy. (Source:  India Energy & India Energy Page 2) 33% is huge - even the US today consumes only about 25% of total world...