Decentralised energy generation consumption and storage
Envisioning India’s transition towards decentralised energy systems using combinations of renewables, storage and smart control technologies.
The India Energy Transformation Platform is an informal, independent, multi-stakeholder group of experts aiming to develop an informed narrative on India’s strategies for meeting its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) through non-linear, transformative solutions. This unique initiative hopes to ensure that India stays ahead of the curve and cements its leadership in the global transition to clean energy – even beyond 2030.
However, it is time that our energy transition towards sustainable energy systems look beyond the NDCs and 2030 timeline. It must take advantage of technology developments around the world to leapfrog into an advanced system that brings a better quality of life to all its citizens.
It is in this context that the India Energy Transformation Platform was conceived by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF).
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is an international cooperation agency within the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). In operating with other federal offices concerned, SDC is responsible for the overall coordination of Swiss development activities and cooperation, as well as for the humanitarian aid delivered by the Swiss Confederation
CSTEP is one of India’s leading think thanks, with the mission to enrich policymaking with innovative approaches using science and technology for a sustainable, secure and inclusive society. Our young and dynamic research team works in the areas of climate, environment, sustainability, energy and AI for social impact and new materials. Our research aims to leverage the power of technology through socially relevant and innovative ideas, to both understand and solve current and future developmental issues. Our vision is to be the foremost institution for policy analysis in India.
Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation works to facilitate India’s transition to a cleaner energy future by aiding the design and implementation of policies that promote clean power, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, climate change mitigation and clean energy finance.
Currently the TRIPP Chair Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India. Prof. Tiwari teaches transportation planning, traffic engineering and transport economics and finance to master's and bachelor's students, apart from guiding PhD students working in the areas of transport planning, safety and non-motorised transport. She has written, edited and contributed to various books, including The Way Forward: Transportation Planning and Road Safety, Injury Prevention and Control, Urban Transport for Growing Cities: High Capacity Bus System, and Road Traffic Injury Prevention: Training Manual.
India Lead for infrastructure and climate business at the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Advisor at Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) since December 2016. Mr. Soonee serves as the Chief Executive Officer for POSOCO since 2010, and as an Executive Director of System Operations at Power Grid Corporation of India Limited since 2006. He has three decades’ experience in power systems operation and planning, electricity markets and RE integration. He is a Fellow of Institution of Engineers (India), Senior Member of IEEE, and represents India on the CIGRE Study Committee C2 on Power System Operation and Control.
Recently retired as the Chairperson of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). Mr. Batra joined CEA in 1983. He then worked with Western Region Load Dispatch Centre, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and has overseen various functions of CEA such as power sector planning, including planning of integration of renewable energy sources into the grid, Electric Power Survey Report on long-term demand forecasting, and National Electricity Plan on generation planning.
Co-founder and Vice Chairman at SUN Mobility, Mr. Maini is an Indian business magnate in the automobile industry and is focused on the clean mobility paradigm. He is best known for building India's first electric car, Reva, and as the Founder of Reva Electric Car Company Ltd., now Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited, where he served as an advisor. He is the director of Maini Group and co-founder of Virya Mobility 5.0. He is also an investor and sits on the board of several clean-tech start-ups.
Mr. Kapur has been a partner with J. Sagar Associates (JSA) since 2000. He anchored the firm’s infrastructure practice since 1997 and now chairs the regulatory & policy practice (including public procurement and PPP). His practice covers: energy (power & hydrocarbons), transport (rail, highways and civil aviation), municipal infrastructure, and social/developmental projects.
Director of the Indo-German Energy Programme at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Dr. Damm started working with GIZ in December 2014 and joined the GIZ India office in January 2015. Previously, he worked at the municipal utility (Stadtwerke) of Leipzig, which he joined in 1992. There he headed sales, marketing, PR, strategy, controlling, M&A and international department, and was responsible for external relations, among other functions. He was involved in many national legislative outcomes, such as the first feed-in law for renewables and capacity market discussions, and pushed Leipzig to become one of the leading cities in e-mobility.
International energy efficiency expert and serves as the President and Executive Director of the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE). Dr. Kumar has served as a senior energy efficiency advisor or technical expert in energy efficiency to multiple government organizations. He was Vice President and Energy Efficiency Ambassador and led the Energy Management business at the Schneider Electric India Pvt. Ltd., a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and led a very successful, USAID-supported, bilateral energy efficiency technical assistance program between US and Indian governments.
Joined the Thermax Management Council as Executive Vice President – Innovation & Technology in 2007. Dr. Sonde joined Thermax after a 25-year career with the Department of Atomic Energy. He has made significant contributions in the field of nuclear energy. A Member of the Department of Science & Technology's Scientific Advisory Committee, Dr. Sonde continues to serve as a member on the IIT Senate Committee.
Former Member of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Dr. Gouri is an economist with 15 years of experience working as a Regulatory Economist. She served as Member (Economics) at the CCI for 5 years and prior to that as Director (Tariffs) at the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Head of the Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics at the Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology.
Founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water since 2010. Dr. Ghosh is the co-author/editor of several books on energy, climate change and international trade. Dr. Ghosh advises governments, industry, civil society and international organisations on energy and climate policy and strategies. He serves on the Executive Committee of the India–U.S. PACEsetter Fund. He is a member of Track II dialogues with ten countries/regions, and formulated the Maharashtra–Guangdong Partnership on Sustainability. He also writes monthly columns in the Business Standard and the Hindustan Times.
At the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Dr. Bandivadekar’s work is aimed at reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles globally. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Sloan Automotive Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he evaluated vehicle and fuel technologies that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and petroleum consumption from the U.S. light-duty fleet.
Envisioning India’s transition towards decentralised energy systems using combinations of renewables, storage and smart control technologies.
With this project, IETP aims to establish systems that enable customers to generate and store their own energy using local RE resources for meeting various essential and non-essential loads. It explores hybrid energy systems for meeting electrical consumption needs such as cooking, heating, pumping, waste management, e-vehicle management and water purification. This project also aims to determine the economics and construct a regulatory framework to inform policy decisions.
Consortium of: cKinetics Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd. and Global Centre for Environment and Energy at the Ahmedabad University
Mr. Pankaj Batra, Dr. Winfried Damm, Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, Dr. Geeta Gouri, Mr. Amit Kapoor (and Mr. Vishnu Sudarsan), Ms. Sakshi C. Dasgupta
Transitioning towards efficient practices and cleaner fuels to meet the rising industrial process heat demand
India has a growing MSME sector which is known to generate significant amounts of greenhouse gases. Although measures taken via Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) have improved energy efficiency, it is still not enough to check emissions caused by the increasing manufacturing demand. In this study, IETP explores options such as fuel switching, electrification, and use of hydrogen and other direct renewable heat sources available for the MSME sector.
Development Environergy Services Ltd.
Dr. R R Sonde, Dr. Anshu Bharadwaj, Dr. Anand Shukla
Developing cost-effective and low-carbon options to meet India’s cooling demand through 2050
By the year 2050, India, China and Indonesia together are likely to contribute 50% of global space cooling energy consumption (air conditioning energy consumption). Lowering the amount of energy used in air conditioning rooms will help in lowering greenhouse gases and energy consumption from this sector. In this study, IETP looks at ways of checking this through novel cooling technologies and smart building and room designs for thermal comfort, as well as assesses challenges faced in adopting these technologies.
Consortium of: Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Energe-se and Centre for Advanced Research in Building Science & Energy (CARBSE, CEPT University)
Satish Kumar, Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, Dr. Anand Shukla, Dr. R. R. Sonde
Envisioning the role and operations of various technology options in an RE-dominant electricity system
Around 42 GtCO2 of India’s projected greenhouse gas emissions of 79 GtCO2 (by 2050) can be avoided by integrating RE technologies into the grid. This requires India’s policies to look at avoiding investments in harmful technology lock-ins and investing in RE technologies instead. In order to do this, bold steps need to be taken in investments, changes to policy, technology and regulations and commercial arrangements for non-renewable energy. This study is aimed at evaluating the costs and benefits of these changes and decisions.
Consortium of: KPMG Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd. and Carbon Trust
Mr. Pankaj Batra, Mr. S. K. Soonee, Mr. Amit Kapoor (and Mr. Vishnu Sudarsan), Dr. Winfried Damm, Mr. Shalabh Tandon, Dr. Ayodhya Tiwari
Date: 07 Feb 2020
Venue: The Claridges, New Delhi
IETP was announced to the public in February 2020. The event brought together all Platform members and research teams. At the event, Anshu Bharadwaj (Former Executive Director, CSTEP) stated that the aim of the Platform is to evaluate whether India can carve out an alternative development paradigm (without compromising on economic development or the NDCs) and emphasised the need to look at non-linear pathways for development that could influence multiple sectors.
Read More View galleryDate: 04 December 2019
Venue: Delhi
The objective was to facilitate an interaction session between the Platform members and research teams, and to have the teams present their final results and recommendations.
Read More View galleryDate: 12 September 2019
The next step after finalising the four research themes was to identify research organisations. A Terms of Reference document was created and after approvals from Platform members, copies were sent out to a long list of organisations.
Read MoreDate: 08 April 2019
Venue: Delhi
The primary objective of this meeting was to finalise research themes to be pursued further. Prior to this meeting, the Core Group participated in a survey that captured their preferences and inputs on the list of ideas that had been generated during previous meetings. The Secretariat presented the shortlisted topics: energy-efficient air conditioning, industrial process heating/cooling, decentralised energy generation and consumption, and innovations on contracting structures for thermal power plants.
Read MoreDate: 21 Feb 2019
Venue: Delhi
Members were invited to make presentations on transformative ideas in the energy sector meriting further research. Initiating the meeting by setting the agenda, Dr. Anshu Bharadwaj, Chair, IETP touched upon the need to explore long-term energy pathways for India that also satisfy different national priorities and are compatible with both global climate commitments and India’s domestic requirements.
Read MoreDate: 08 Jan 2019
Venue: Delhi
In the first meeting of IETP, members discussed the key focus areas for the Platform. Subsequently, a list of possible research areas was created. Some of the key discussions revolved around hydrogen and its end-use applications (particularly in industries), transport-sector interventions (demand side), formulating of policies and processes that reduce dependence on fossil fuels, increased public engagement, need for pricing externalities and linking with sustainable financing, acceleration of decentralised distributed generation (reaching up to the household level), alternative models and market mechanisms, and data availability.
Read More