Cleantech: a panacea for India’s foreign policy mess?
March 15, 2008
American politicians of all stripes have jumped on the corn ethanol bandwagon in the name of energy security and some even propound ethanol will solve the country’s foreign policy problems related to Middle-East. By contrast, you can’t find many Indian politicians talking up alternative energy though like the Us, India’s energy needs have left its foreign policy in mess. At least to some extent, I agree with the US politicians. No, I am not proposing ethanol alone and certainly not corn ethanol. Instead I believe clean technologies (a.k.a. cleantech) in energy transmission and energy efficiency represent a not-so-obvious solution to significantly reducing India’s energy demand and curbing the need for “dirty” oil and gas.
First, let me explain India’s foreign policy “catch 22″ situation. That India is desperately trying to overcome internal resistance to complete the nuclear energy deal with US is no secret. What’s not as publicized is the fact that India has been trying to join hands with China to compete with western oil giants in bidding for some African oil & gas fields. Similarly, the long-standing proposal for an Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline isn’t common knowledge either.
Ironically, deeply distrustful of its new business partners – China and Pakistan – India continues to build its military might with help from the usual suspects: US, Russia, UK and Israel. Also, as unthinkable as it sounds, India started joint naval exercises with US and followed that up with joint military exercises with China at the same time.
Most recently, India’s space agency ISRO launched an Israeli spy satellite into orbit, upsetting both Iran and Pakistan, who now threaten to take the natural gas pipeline to China instead. The prospects of the Indo-US nuclear energy deal don’t look much better either. What a mess!
So here’s an idea: How about pouring the same billions of dollars into economic incentives and R&D support for distributed energy generation, reducing transmission losses and energy efficiency projects instead? India’s electric grid losses are legendary (26% of production on average and 62% in some states) and India’s agriculture and manufacturing sectors are no models of efficiency either. Take a look at these case studies by The 3 Country Energy Efficieny Project for an inkling of what the the most unglamorous of energy efficiency initiatives could achieve.
Seriously speaking, I reluctantly admit that cleantech will not solve all of India’s foreign policy troubles, but you cannot deny that we cleantech zealots may be onto something here, after all.
Entry Filed under: Energy Distribution, Energy Efficiency, General. .
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Ryan L | March 16, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Interesting perspective, but are there any good cases out there where policy makers and the cleantech sector are working together to define local and regional policies and action items toward added renewable generation capacity, reduced transmission losses and incentives for energy efficiency?
Some US Solar companies work on peak loading in CA and the southwest may be relevant, but it’s such a small scale at this time. Additional R&D is certainly needed, but are there other locations for good cases?
2.
Bakul | May 9, 2008 at 9:31 pm
The strategic energy crisis facing many countries (including India) is a LIQUID fuel crisis. Electricity shortfall is a systemic (but not strategic) paucity that can easily be remedied via capital investment. In that light, I would classify your great game theory as rather tenuous.