As we all bid adieu to a year in which turbulence was the only
stable (and ‘sustainable’) phenomenon, we foresee the following 7 key
sustainability headlines holding center stage in the year ahead:
1) Water efficiency
takes prominence:
With direct parallels to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, a
national Bureau of Water Efficiency will commence work in 2014. In parallel,
regional authorities are also shifting their focus to enabling efficient
consumption – a positive step for India. Some municipal authorities have
planned pilots for grey/black water segregation and water recycling projects in
2014 to ease residential water woes. In other states, such as Maharashtra,
mandatory industrial water efficiency, recycling and harvesting is being
discussed and, common industrial effluent treatment and waste recovery business
models may arise if legislation is affected.
Segments with potential
to gain traction: industrial water auditing /efficiency SPs;
electro-chlorination, ultraviolet, ozone technologies combined with solar.
2) Point solutions will
proliferate as policy stalls:
Point solutions for introducing green energy and improving
efficiency, such as those discussed here,
will continue to gain traction through 2014. From our conversations, major
industrial corporate groups such as the Tata Group are looking to increase
renewable energy mix from 1-5% to up-to 10-15% in the medium term through
captive generation. Most of the heavy lifting will occur in 2014 for MSME
technology up-gradation programs and the National Innovation Fund projects for
energy efficiency and product innovation, particularly in brass, steel and food
factory units.
Top growth areas:
rooftop solar, waste heat recovery, CHP, biomass, energy efficiency solutions
3) Nascent conversations
on energy storage investment options will emerge:
Grid-scale storage is critical enabler in making the widespread
use of solar viable. USAID predicts that energy storage infrastructure is
likely to come online in 2015-16 in India. Meanwhile, mega solar parks have
helped Indian solar industry to emerge closer on parity with fossil fuels, with
bids of Rs.6.45/kW received in Rajasthan and a 20-year tariff of Rs. 5.45/kW
set under Phase II of the National Solar Mission. Overall, solar is cheap,
energy storage technology is on the horizon, and the scene is set to develop
funding frameworks in place to catalyze the uptake of storage technologies as
they become ready-for-market.
Top sectors affected:
cold chains, automobile sector, smart grids
4) Moves afoot to
enforce RPO and build confidence in REC markets:
The RPO-REC mechanism is, and will continue to be, the biggest
driver of the uptake in renewable energy by states and downstream captive
users. However, a lack of RPO enforcement caused both solar and non-solar RECs
to crash to floor price in June 2013 and prices remain as such. Instead of
forcing defaulters to buy RECs, some SERCs are allowing DISCOMs and obligated
entities to ‘carry forward’ RE deficits to the next financial year. To
reinstate confidence in REC markets, the Centre has called for all delayed RPO
requirements to be fulfilled by March 2014. MNRE has also submitted a proposal
to the Ministry of Power that a portion of government aid to state electricity
boards should be conditional on achieving RPOs.Top policy changes
anticipated: aspects of aid conditional on RPO compliance, increased state
level capacity building , to track RPO compliance, NSM Phase II support to
states enhanced
5) Fleets will
jump-start the electric vehicles market:
After being withdrawn in March 2012, and in response to a sluggish
automobile market in the last year, GOI has announced that an electric vehicle
subsidy will kick in April 2014. However, unlike 2012, where the focus was on
consumer EVs and electric two-wheelers, the market has shifted its attention to
four-wheel “people carriers” and transport fleets. While electric cars are still too
pricey for individuals, and shifting from fuel to electricity makes no sense if
most of the electricity is sourced from non-renewable sources, the
EV subsidy may stimulate the emergence of electric fleet vehicles with small,
predictable routes (a circuit of 5-6 kilometre). Unlike consumer EVs, fleet
vehicles are not contingent on national coordination of charging infrastructure
and could use captive renewable energy. This approach could tip the case for
electric vehicles and the likes of Tata and Maruti, are contemplating to join
Mahindra and Mahindra in this market.
6) Preparation for 2nd
cycle ushers PAT revamp:
The roll-out of the second cycle for PAT is due in early 2015 –
where the scope of PAT will increase to potentially include aviation, railways,
power transmission and distribution companies Encouraging uptake of PAT and
securing a sustainable supply of ESCerts will be crucial in 2014. Stakeholders
and regulators are also discussing how to ensure players, who are investing in
long-term energy efficiency initiatives, are not penalized in any given year of
PAT. Further, we expect in-scope industries to focus heavily on measurement
& verification of efficiency benefits, potentially catalyzed through
specialist industry bodies like AEEE.
Critical activities
anticipated in 2014: pilots of energy-efficient technologies, new sectors
added, clear sector boundaries announced, enforcement mechanisms to foster
ESCerts trading.
7) Sustainable
agri-infrastructure to unlock food exports:
Overall, the food processing industry is growing at AAGR 8.6% –
faster than agriculture (4%) or manufacturing (8%). However, economies of scale
through processing parks or clusters are needed to attract capital and use
technologies that enable Indian food exporters to meet stringent environment
and safety standards in export markets, to develop new products from low-value
or low-grade fresh foods, and to reduce product wastage –In June 2013, the
National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) was approved. Even more critically,
GOI quickly called for 12 more Mega Food Parks in addition to 30 ongoing
projects; 75 new Cold Chain Projects in addition to 74 already approved in
2013.
This cluster/park based approach will entail captive energy
generation (most likely renewable or waste to energy based) as an absolute
pre-requisite to make cold storage infrastructure & processing in India
affordable and scalable without driving up the cost of food.
courtesy:- Cleantechnica
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