India makes game-changing commitment to green energy

India is known for a lot of things – a dense population, an economy on the rise – but green energy certainly hasn’t been one. That all changed last week, when the electricity regulatory committee in Maharashtra (MERC), India's most industrialized state, ordered 93 separate companies to reach renewable power obligations (RPOs) by March, 2014. This mandate pertains to both government distribution companies as well as private consumers.

Companies that fail to comply will be fined 13.40 RS per unit, the highest penalty the state has ever threatened to levy. Maharashtra and Punjab, another one of the country's wealthier areas, are the only two states in India really pushing green energy.

Until now, India hasn’t made much progress on that front, mainly because their government has failed to enforce energy and environmental laws. In April, a report published by Greenpeace found that 22 of India’s 29 states failed reach their RPO goals. Maharashtra was one of the worst offenders.

"This announcement is a fundamental game-changer for the Indian solar industry," says Ameet Shah, co-chairman of Astonfield Renewables, a solar company vying for more work in India. "RPOs are essential to installing more power, alleviating shortages, and helping our economy run at full speed. Maharashtra, making such a big policy move towards enforcement confirms explicitly that non-compliance will not be tolerated any longer."

But is solar the answer? That technology has been around for decades now – plenty of time to prove itself on the global market. Solar simply hasn’t been able to provide enough power for large areas. It fails on cloudy days. Requires expensive instillation. Needs to be maintained regularly. Solar literally comes with a laundry list of problems.

Maybe solar isn’t the answer. That’s OK. The findings in India are “a significant step," claims Greenpeace campaigner Abhishek Pratap. “But it's going to be difficult for the [government] to impose such fines. Many [companies] are in very poor financial condition, so it's probably better to make the private entities pay up first."

Pratap goes on to blame regulatory boards for having limited the powers of local law enforcement. "The question is: who will regulate the regulators? We need a revamp of all electricity laws to give electricity regulatory boards more power." Sounds like they need to tear down the past and start from scratch.

NRGLab and other green energy groups are praying that Maharashtra’s initiative in India serves as a game-changing precedent. For far too long, governments have relied on incentivizing people. Perhaps it’s time to inflict a little punishment. Some “tough love.”

NRGLab believes there’s an easier – less painful – solution. With energy breakthroughs like the SH-Box – a carbon-free electrical generator that’s also portable – and the SV-Turbine – a device used in the gasification of agricultural byproduct into useable fuel, our company is dedicated to solving the energy problems of tomorrow, today.

For more information on NRGLab, visit nrglab.asia. And be sure to follow me for more news and updates. 

[ green energy, Maharashtra, MERC, renewable power, Punjab, Ameet Shah, Astonfield Renewables, Abhishek Pratap, sh-box, nrglab, nrglab singapore, nrglab pte ltd ]

The Importance of Renewable Energy

By Alex K

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/alex-k/67/5bb/60

Hi, my name is Alex, and I’m an engineer involved with NRGLab’s Research Council. For over 15 years, I’ve worked with CAD-CAM computer technology helping other engineers achieve the exact, detailed specifications of their designs. NRGLab’s SH-box is going to change the world, and I’ll tell you why: it’s a source of renewable energy.

            When working with computer models, one often uses interpreted data to predict future trends and tendencies. The world should be viewed the same way. By analyzing information about our present, we are able to make adjustments to systems rooted in pre-industrial traditions and optimize our future. There’s no escaping the harsh truth currently facing us: the world is slowly dying. Populations are growing too rapidly. Fuel consumption has escalated out of control. It’s time we applied what we know about our environment to prevent, what seems at the moment, to be an inevitably unhappy ending.

            The solution is renewable energy. Renewable sources democratize energy and allow information, technology, stability, and peace to thrive. Countries all across the world are currently pitted against one another in a struggle for control of a limited supply of natural resources. Oil, coal, natural gas. Eliminate the incentive, and we may see an end to war.

            Our current dependency on oil and gas was fine for the 1900s. But now the oil is running out, and a few more hybrid cars on the road won’t offset the carbon emissions being pumped into our atmosphere. The damage has been done. Luckily, change is on the way.

            But big change requires an open mind. First, we need to be able to imagine a world without gas stations or coal-burning power plants in order to make that world a reality. We need new technology that, in one foul swoop, can be plugged-in to current grids, providing immediate relief to millions of households struggling to make ends meet. We need to come together in order to take a stand against the established energy infrastructure. Energy, like the air we breathe, shouldn’t be treated like a commodity with a price tag attached. It should be treated as an opportunity for people to learn, communicate, and feel a little bit safer at night. Energy is power. And at NRGLab, our goal is to give that power back to the people. 

            Want to be a part of the energy solution? Interested in becoming part of the NRGLab team? You can learn more about how to join the Research Council here: https://www.box.com/ResearchCouncilNRGLab

[ renewable energy, research council nrglab, green energy, nrglab pte ltd, nrglab сингапур, nrglab singapore, nrglab, annie j ]

New apps for your phone make going green fun!

Are you one of the hundreds of thousands of people out there constantly looking for better ways to go green? From leasing hybrid cars to making energy upgrades around the house, environmentalism has solidified itself as a trend amongst today’s adults. 

Saving energy may not always be easy, but it can definitely be fun! New green applications for your smartphone promise exactly that…

Did you know that 56% of American adults now own some variety of smartphone? Meanwhile, Google and Apple recently hit the 50 billion downloaded-app mark! That’s a lot of people who, collectively, could be making a major impact on cutting energy consumption.

An app called Joulebug turns conservation into a game. Players can earn points and badges for reusing shopping bags, coffee cups, or sorting their trash for recyclables.

Last year, the White House launched the Green Button initiative, an app that helps Americans track their energy usage. The theory was that if people could gain a better understanding of their utility bills, it would entice them to reduce their energy usage, while simultaneously saving money.

You can try apps like Kill-Ur-Watts or Leafully. Leafully recently won the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Apps for Energy” contest, and works by connecting to companies that offer Green Button data. Another app called WattRebate let’s you search by zip code to find tax rebates for becoming more energy efficient.

Riding a bicycle is one eco-friendly, health-conscious way to cut back on your transportation costs. An app called Ride the City provides information like routes, local shops, bike-share stations, and local weather. New York City, Chicago, and Washington D.C. now offer bike-sharing programs for commuters. Just pick up and drop off and go about your day with a clean conscience!

So instead of downloading another mind-numbing game on your supposedly smartphone, try downloading a green energy app. See how much electricity you’re wasting. See how much money you could be saving. See how fun going green can be!

[ White House, Apple, Green Button initiative, Kill-Ur-Watts, Leafully, Ride the city app, Joulebug, annie j, ana shell, green energy, nrglab, nrglab сингапур, nrglab singapore, research council nrglab ]

Crisis temporarily averted: U.S. pushes ahead with green energy

Last week, the Wall Street Journal predicted that United States legislatures were considering making cut backs to green energy programs amidst budget concerns. Votes were up in 29 states, including Washington, D.C., and represented a potentially devastating blow to the environmental movement. According to some, government investment in energy alternatives like solar and wind violate free-trade democracy.

Luckily for the rest of the world however, most of those votes have fallen short. "ALEC’s (the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council) attempt to squash clean energy standards in the states has failed," said Gabe Elsner, director of the Checks and Balances Project, an advocacy group that helps hold government officials, lobbyists, and corporations accountable to the public. "I thought they would have had more success."

After the 2012 election, ALEC teamed up with well-known libertarian groups in an effort to derail the transition to green energy. But this year, not a single state repealed its renewable energy requirements or pollution standards. In fact, some states have bolstered them!

Colorado, for example, more than doubled its mandate for energy sales, requiring 20% to come by way of renewable resources by the end of the decade. In Minnesota, utility companies now must generate 1.5% of their electricity from solar. (And that’s in addition to the 25% renewable energy production they hope to achieve by 2025.)

Chelsea Barnes of Keyes, Fox & Wiedman, a law firm that tracks energy legislation, isn’t so surprise that the voting went the way it did. "We started seeing more of these stories on this coordinated attack on renewables," she said. But the anxiety was "more of a media issue than an actual industry issue."

[ nrglab, nrglab pte ltd, nrglab singapore, nrglab сингапур, ana shell, annie j, green energy, American Legislative Exchange Council, Chelsea Barnes of Keyes, Fox, Wiedman, ALEC, Gabe Elsner, Checks and Balances Project ]