Cleantech India

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I come across a lot of statistics and numbers while doing research for my blog posts. Often they are unrelated and detract from the story’s focus. So I thought, why not start a new page and park those numbers here? Not a bad idea, eh?

Solar grade silicon supply will significantly exceed demand in about a year

This is an old prediction, but these are the latest numbers from an open source that I could get hold of. This is sure to drive down solar prices dramatically over the next couple of years.

Plastics fraction in our waste has exploded over the last decade!

About a decade ago, plastics and rubber made up less than 1% of India’s urban municipal solid waste. Today the same number stands near 10%.

How many Indians lack access to grid electricity?

As so many numbers about developing countries, it depends on who you ask.

If Indian government numbers are used, back in 2001, 140 million rural citizens (108 of them in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand) lack access to electricity. This was based on the population of 82,377 villages that were documented as lacking grid access.

By World Bank estimates, however, these numbers grossly understate the problem. As recently as September 2007, World Bank believed more than 40% of Indians – most in rural regions – still lack electricity access. That’s 412 million Indians!

If you know of other sources that support or question these numbers, please let me know!

Jatropha oil yields when compared with other sources

Source: NREL

A barrel of biodiesel from Jatropha is estimated to cost around $43. Compare that to $83/barrel for Corn Ethanol and $45/barrel for Sugarcane Ethanol. (Source: WSJ)

Even without going into the calorific value details, Jatropha wins hands down.