REtopia 2017

REtopia 2017

Souvenir of the 7th Annual Technical Symposium

Organized by the

Department of Energy and Environment

TERI University, New Delhi

Editing: Ganesh Pillai, Sahana L

Design: Soudipan Maity

The opinions expressed by the authors are their own and editors cannot accept any legal

responsibility for the views of authors, any omission or inadvertent errors.

REtopia 2017

REtopia 2017 Organizing Committee

Patron Mr. Amit Kumar, Senior Fellow & Senior Director, TERI

Faculty Coordinator Mr. Sapan Thapar, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Energy and

Environment, TERI University

Overall Coordinators Ramnath Satpute, Sahana L, Soudipan Maity

Sponsorship Anirudh Narla, Arun Kumar, Sarath Kanth Chaganti

Treasury Kamna Waghray Mahendra

Public Relations Mekha Susan Philip, Sonalee Mehta

Hospitality Gaurav Balani, Sankho Ghosh

Souvenir Ganesh Pillai, Sahana L, Soudipan Maity

Logistics Gaurav Balani

Online Publicity Anirudh Sharma, Harsimran Kaur, Puneet Sharma, Soudipan Maity

Event Coordinators

Anjali Lathigara, Anuj Sharma, Arundhati Yadava, Chandana Sasidharan,

Chris Alice Abraham, Gaurav Balani, Harsimran Kaur, Meghna Shalini

Moitra, Pallas Chandel, Sankho Ghosh, Shivali Dwivedi, Ukidve Gandhar

Gangadhar

Sub-Committee

Abhinav Agrawal, Abhinav Viz, Aditi Arya, Akshat Singh, Akshita Arora,

Arushi Parihar, Bikash Sahu, D Priyatam, Divyanshu Sood, Drimson

Fernandes, Gautam Gupta, Gautham Moletti, Hashir Khan, Himangka

Kaushik, Joshi Devani, Karan Bhandari, Karthikeyan N, Raj Priya, Richa

Singh, Rishabh Sethi, Saksham Goel, Shinjini Singh, Shirish Bharadwaj,

Shravani Itkelwar, Shubham Thakare, Siddhant Shankar, SM Gulfam,

Soumik Dutta, Subhan Khan, Sweta Mallik, Trishita Bhattacharjee,

Vasudev KP, Yashvi Malhotra

REtopia 2017

Contents

1. Communiqué from the Vice-Chancellor 6

2. Communiqué from the Pro Vice-Chancellor 7

3. Patron’s Message 8

4. Message from Head of the Department 9

5. Message from the Coordinators 11

6. Editorial 12

7. About TERI University 14

8. A Canvas of the Dignitaries at REtopia 2017 15

9. Face-to-Face 21

10. Articles by the Department of Energy and Environment 25

11. Student Profiles (MTech. REEM 2016-2018) 57

12. Student Profiles (MTech. REEM 2017-2019) 67

REtopia 2017

Dr. Leena Srivastava

Vice-Chancellor,

TERI University, New Delhi

T he energy sector has been dominating India’s growth strategy for nearly five decades now.

Ever since the oil price crises of the 1970s, India has been struggling to find its energy security.

Going through cycles of nationalisation and denationalisation, through various rounds of petroleum

exploration contracts, numerous policies to strengthen the extension of grid electricity services to

the remotest corners of the country, we managed to support a growth rate of between 3% and

3.5% per annum till the early 1990s.

In the early 1990s, on the verge of an economic collapse, India embarked on aggressive economic

and energy reforms that saw the emergence of large private sector energy supply entities. Riding on

the success of the reforms agenda, the private sector engaged in extreme competitiveness resulting

in a boon for consumers. However, the over-stretch by private entities also saw huge accumulation

of stranded assets, emanating from large risky investments in high capacity energy infrastructures.

The risk was magnified by India’s inability to fix its demand side and move to market determined

prices.

In this scenario, first the wave of wind energy investments, followed by the announcement of the

National Solar Mission as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) renewed

interest in the energy sector. However, it was the five-fold jump in 2022 targets, announced in 2015,

from 20,000 MW to a 100,000 MW which fired the imagination of investors all over again – big and

small, national and international, public and private – to engage as one with the renewable energy

growth story.

What have been our achievements and learnings? How do we build on the excellent start we got

through a confluence of technological and policy factors, to exponentially increase renewable energy

capacities? What is the role of capacity building? We hope to engage with all of you in addressing

these questions, and more, and help India retain its leadership position in this clean and inclusive

energy space.

Communiqué from the Vice-Chancellor

REtopia 2017

Dr. Rajiv Seth

Pro Vice-Chancellor

TERI University, New Delhi

I n the global renaissance of renewable energy, India is playing a vital role; and if we were to keep

government’s ambitious plans in mind, will continue to do so. Naturally, a wave of innovation and a

large number of entrepreneurs are entering the field of renewable energy.

This year’s edition of REtopia, with the theme “21st Century Energy Renaissance through

Renewables”, is an effort to bring the youth together to explore, discuss and debate the various

ways in which new and creative ideas can be brought into the arena of renewable energy. Very

obviously, youth of today have a permanent role to play as future innovators in renewable energy.

TERI University, with its stress on creative thinking, aims to foster new ideas and encourage

entrepreneurship.

REtopia 2017 will be a fantastic opportunity for the environmentally focused youth to interact

amongst themselves and with other stakeholders in the field of renewable energy.

My best wishes for the event.

Communiqué from the Pro Vice-Chancellor

REtopia 2017

Amit Kumar

Senior Fellow & Senior Director

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

T he word `Renaissance’ means a revival of or renewed interest in something. It also indicates

rejuvenation, invigoration, as well as new dawn. Classically the term was associated with the style of

art developed in the 14th–16th centuries. Juxtaposing the philosophy in the arena of energy is

indeed both, interesting and relevant. When I started my journey in the field of renewable energy 35

years ago, renewable energy was considered not even at the fringes of energy per se. Renewables

at that time used to be only about solar water heating systems, solar cookers, biogas plants, and

some other small devices. And the rural development was the main driver. But in a short span of

three decades, the scenario is completely transformed. The key drivers for this phenomenal global

growth of renewables have been energy security or energy independence, global climate change

concerns, and local environmental aspects. Moreover, today renewable energy sources encompass

right from the utility-scale electricity generation to decentralized applications for heat and power to

small devices like solar lights for rural energy access. In India itself the share of new renewables

(excluding large hydro) is over 17% of the total installed capacity, contributing around 7% of total

electricity generation.

So for someone like me who was fortunate enough to be a part of this historical journey right from

its formative years, it is nothing short of a `new dawn’. Undoubtedly, renewable energy resources

are the ones giving an invigorating push to contemporary energy scene. On one hand India’s draft

`National Electricity Plan 2017’ estimates that the current pipeline of 50 GW of coal power plants

would mean that no new capacity addition of coal power is required till 2027. On the other hand,

TERI’s report on `Transitions in India Electricity Sector 2017 – 2030’ states that given the price

reduction trajectories for renewables and energy storage, it is quite feasible that price of firm

electricity from intermittent renewables, that is the combined price of electricity from renewables and

storage comes down to Rs.5/kWh beyond 2027. In that scenario, new coal power plants would not

be required at all. The way energy scenes are unfolding not only in India but world over such

eventuality is no more a matter of imagination but closer to reality than what we assume.

Looking back at the history of energy one would notice that Sun, wind, and water - besides animal

and human energy – were the mainstay for meeting the basic energy needs of mankind. The

An analysis on the event theme: Energy Renaissance through Renewables

Patron’s Message

REtopia 2017

industrial revolution riding on coal based steam engines really helped it to take a quantum leap. It

was shortly followed by hydro electricity and then came internal combustion engines powered by oil

by the turn of the century. All of these milestones brought about transformational changes in the

way we produced and consumed energy. Thus, while the earlier civilizations too were dependent on

renewables, it is the 21st century that is heralding a massive revival of renewable energy,

`Renaissance’ in true sense! And while renaissance period of art and culture has a special place in

the European history, it is the `energy renaissance’ that would have planet-wise impact, that too

hugely positive.

Dr. Suresh Jain

Head of the Department and Professor

Department of Energy and Environment

TERI University

I t gives me immense pleasure to introduce the seventh edition of REmag, the annual REtopia

souvenir. REtopia is now a flagship event of Department of Energy and Environment. TERI

University, since its inception, is keen to provide a platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge

and experience in several areas fostering sustainability through education and research. REtopia

2017 is an attempt in the series started from 2011 to ensure common platform for different

stakeholders (like academia, industry, and government) working in the area of renewable energy.

India stands at a very critical stage of various interconnected challenges in terms of energy access,

affordability and security. Considering the current trends, rising population and its concomitant

energy demands, the nation has to work on a sustainable energy strategy. India’s Intended

Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) committed at COP 21 in Paris gave an impetus to

renewable energy industry. Even though renewable energy sources mainly in the form of solar,

hydro, wind and biomass have always been present, the Renaissance of renewable energy in the

21st century is marked by the growing energy deficit and environmental threats. The renewable

energy sector has changed the energy markets globally and currently India is witnessing the rise of

renewables in its energy mix. The enormous potential of renewable energy sources have attracted

the attention of both policy makers and scientific community. Installed capacity of renewable energy

has doubled in past ten years and falling renewable prices energy prices are expected to play

important role in achieving goals of energy security. Additionally, there is also an emerging job

market in renewable energy generation and distribution. Renewable energy sources in combination

are expected to contribute to more than 50% of India’s total installed power capacity by 2027.

REtopia 2017, celebrating this era of change with its theme ‘21st Century Energy Renaissance

through Renewables’ underpins the progressively increasing role of renewable energy sources in

Message from Head of the Department

REtopia 2017

energy security in India as well as globally.

I hope that both our students and the participants will benefit from the exchange of information

through different events including Parikalpana (competition for whole new renewable energy designs

of techno-economic feasibility), Udaan (to inspire entrepreneurs of the future), Yukti (troubleshooting

renewable energy problems). The feedback, comments and discussions during the debate and

expert sessions with professionals would also be an enriching experience. I am hopeful that REtopia

2017 will facilitate in taking forward the ideas to new opportunities of technological innovations,

worthy of making an impact in the real world.

All sectors of economy are set to adopt renewable energy movement by participating in financing,

manpower training, innovative skill development, establishing production facilities, field deployment,

operation and maintenance and finally making renewable energy power a way of healthy life. Finally,

I am looking forward to a very successful and inspiring REtopia 2017 and my best wishes to all the

participants – delegates and students. I encourage the readers/participants to carry along the spark

ignited during REtopia 2017 in their thoughts and put it to practice in the days to come.

REtopia 2017

The word Utopia means an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. REtopia

was started with the intention of imbibing the spirit of a utopian society into the energy sector. This

annual technical symposium of TERI University has always been a prominent congregation of

industry experts, entrepreneurs, academicians, students and working professionals who share a

common interest in Renewable Energy. The participants get an opportunity to interact with industry

experts and academicians for better understanding of this steadily growing industry. Students gain a

rich learning experience through the discussions and competitions which are designed to put their

skills to test against worthy competitors.

The word Renaissance literally translates into rebirth or revival. With the prolonged energy crisis that

the world has been facing due to limited sources of fossil fuels and other political, economic, political

barriers, we are forced to renew the means by which we meet our energy demands. Therefore, the

theme for REtopia 2017, ‘21st Century Energy Renaissance through Renewable Energy’ very aptly

emphasizes the revival of energy through renewable energy sources. Before inventions and

technology invaded our life, we relied entirely on nature to meet our energy needs. Now, once again

the interest in using renewable sources has given a new leash of life for this energy-starved world.

We have been truly privileged to be the overall event coordinators of REtopia 2017. Although

everyone will know it as a 2-day event, for us it was nothing less than several months of preparation.

The entire team of REtopia 2017 has been instrumental in making this one of the prestigious

technical symposiums which has been designed and organized solely by the students. We have had

our share of excitements, disappointments, memorable experiences and valuable lessons all along

this journey. With the amount of meticulous planning that has gone into REtopia 2017, it is bound to

be a success story that will be remembered for years to come. We take immense pleasure in inviting

you to be a part of REtopia 2017 and witness how Renewable Energy can touch lives.

Message from the Coordinators

Ramnath

Satpute

M.Tech REEM

2016-2018

Sahana L

M.Tech REEM

2016-2018

Soudipan

Maity

M.Tech REEM

2016-2018

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member

is the team.” -Phil Jackson

REtopia 2017

Sahana L

MTech. REEM 2016-2018 (3rd semester)

Department of Energy and Environment

Electricity is one of the basic needs of mankind. Our journey form the invention of fire to LED lights

has been a dramatic one. Energy demands of our world is only going to rise manifold in the years to

come. Our future generations will arrive at a day when they can no longer survive without electricity.

Yet, with the prolonged energy crisis that the world has been facing due to limited sources of fossil

fuels and other political, economic, political barriers, we are forced to renew the means by which we

meet our energy demands. Therefore, the theme for REtopia 2017, ‘21st Century Energy

Renaissance through Renewable Energy’ very aptly emphasises the revival of energy through

renewable energy sources. Before inventions and technology invaded our life, we relied entirely on

nature to meet our energy needs. Now, once again the interest in using renewable sources has

given a new leash of life for this energy-starved world.

The entire nation is debating about the plausibility of the ambitious target of 175 GW installed

capacity of renewable energy by 2022. With meticulous planning and efforts, the present

Government of India is providing immense opportunities for investment in the renewable energy

sector. Until recently, generation of electricity from renewable energy sources was considered to be

an expensive affair. Now, with competitive bidding, the tariff rates have reduced significantly and this

has silenced the naysayers who argued that renewable energy cannot compete with the

conventional power tariff. We cannot deny the fact that the markets decide the growth of a sector.

Therefore, the policy makers should tread on a careful path while framing policies so that there

should be a conducive environment for the growth of renewable energy.

REmag has always been instrumental in bringing together ideas and thought-provoking articles from

the department of energy and environment. This year’s edition has articles which bear testimony to

the plethora of opportunities that the renewable energy sector will offer. This energy renaissance of

the 21st century will enlighten us that renewable energy is not just any other source, it is a way of

life.

Break-up of Renewable Energy Sources in India as on 30.06.2017 is given below (in MW):

Small Hydro Power

Wind Power

Bio-Power

Solar Power Total Capacity BM Power/

Cogeneration Waste to energy

4384.55 32508.17 8181.70 114.08 13114.85 58303.35

Editorial

REtopia 2017

TERI University was established on 19 August 1998 and recognized by the University Grants

Commission (UGC) as a deemed to be University in 1999. TERI University has been accredited by

National Assessment and Accreditation Council as an 'A' grade University on 23 March 2013 for a

period of five years with 3.26 CGPA.

The TERI University aspires to contribute globally by serving society as a seat of advanced learning

and to promote learning through teaching and through creating and sharing knowledge. The

University commits itself to academic excellence and an environment, which would encourage

personal and intellectual growth.

TERI University commits itself to academic excellence and provides an environment that will

encourage both personal and intellectual growth through teaching, creating and sharing knowledge.

Department of Energy and Environment

The importance of renewable energy for addressing climate change and energy security concerns

cannot be over emphasized. The mission of the Department is to produce specially trained

manpower for the highly multidisciplinary area of renewable energy utilization. The research interests

of the Department include energy efficient and passive building design strategies, solar thermal

systems, biomass gasification, bio-methanation, lignocelluloses, ethanol, integration of renewable

energy sources with electric grid. The Department offers MTech. (Renewable Energy Engineering

and Management), PG Diploma (through distance learning mode) and doctoral programmes.

Ph. D. (Energy and Environment)

The Department of Energy and Environment is engaged in research in the broad area of clean

technologies to achieve energy efficiency and minimize adverse environmental impacts. The areas of

research include renewable energy, energy conservation, energy engineering and environment

engineering including technologies for waste management and process efficiency improvement.

Diploma (Renewable Energy)

In this one year diploma course, you are free to choose any two of the following certificate courses,

according to your preference and interest.

• CEIE (Certificate Course in Energy Infrastructure and Efficiencies)

• CRERP (Certificate Course in Renewable Energy Resources and Policies)

• CRE (Certificate Course in Renewable Energy)

• CSTEA (Certificate Course in Software Tools for Energy Analysis)

About TERI University

REtopia 2017

Advanced PG Diploma (Renewable Energy)

This course is designed to provide the students a comprehensive knowledge of different aspects of

various renewable energies, in addition to energy efficiency and energy conservation. In the two

years diploma course, you do all the following certificate courses, over a period of two years.

• CEIE (Certificate Course in Energy Infrastructure and Efficiencies)

• CRERP (Certificate Course in Renewable Energy Resources and Policies)

• CRE (Certificate Course in Renewable Energy)

• CSTEA (Certificate Course in Software Tools for Energy Analysis)

MTech. (Renewable Energy Engineering and Management)

The Master of Technology (MTech.) in Renewable Energy Engineering and Management (REEM) at

TERI University, initiated by the Department of Energy and Environment in 2009, is one-of-its-kind

programme developed specifically to fulfil the increasing demand for trained professionals in the

fields of renewable energy and energy management.

The key objective of the MTech. REEM programme is to prepare the students in theoretical as well

as practical aspects of renewable energy technologies, energy conservation, and management. This

multidisciplinary programme trains students not only in renewable energy conversion Technologies

and their implementation but also covers equally important areas of energy infrastructure, rational

use of energy, policies, and regulatory aspects along with climate change mitigation and energy–

environment interface. The uniqueness of the programme lies in the fact that it fosters the much

sought-after managerial skills with courses on energy economics and project management. Thus,

the programme enables the students to tackle practical problems of design and development in the

industry and to pursue academic research.

Students of the MTech. REEM programme are equipped with the advanced interdisciplinary skills

required to design, optimize, and evaluate the technical and economic viability of clean energy

projects. The curriculum prepares them for careers in the energy sector, particularly in renewable

energy and energy management.

The programme consists of core and elective courses taught during the first, second, and third

semesters. After the first two semesters, students take up a minor project/summer internship for

about six weeks. The entire final semester is devoted to a major project undertaken in an industrial

or research environment, supervised jointly by an expert in the host organization and a faculty

member at the TERI University.

The exposure to the industry and research environment in addition to the field visits enables

students to transform into professionals, ready to take up real life challenges.

A CANVAS OF THE DIGNITARIES AT RETOPIA 2017

REtopia 2017

Dr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad India Country Director, World Bank Dr. Junaid Ahmad is the Country Director for the World Bank in India. He joined the World Bank’s Delhi office on 1 September 2016. Mr. Ahmad, a Bangladeshi national, was formerly the Chief of Staff to World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. He joined the World Bank in 1991 as a Young Professional and worked on infrastructure development in Africa and Eastern Europe. He has since held several management positions, leading the Bank’s program in diverse regions including Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in India and South Asia. Prior to joining the President’s office in January 2016, Mr. Junaid was the Senior Director for the Water Global Practice, a position he held since the creation of the Global Practices in July 2014. In this role, Mr. Ahmad has built a strong and collaborative Global Practice and has brought a strong track record of management and leadership in the area of service delivery and international partnerships, combining intellectual and analytical rigor with strategic operational focus. Mr. Ahmad has championed the Practice’s focus on water and the economy, and emphasized institutions and resilience in water management. He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Stanford University, an MPA from Harvard University, and a BA in Economics from Brown University. Dr. Ravi Segal Business Leader - India, ASEAN, China, Energy Consulting, GE Power As the Business Leader - Energy Consulting for GE Energy in India, ASEAN and China region, Dr. Segal focusses on the power system grid interconnection studies and also techno-economic evaluation of new power projects including thermal and renewables. Having performed various roles like that of a technical specialist, project manager, six sigma black-belt, sales and marketing functions, he is currently also engaged in techno-economic evaluation and policy recommendations for rural electrification solutions involving biomass, wind and currently working on energy storage devices for distributed generation programs. He holds a PhD in Power System Stabilizers from IIT Delhi and a B.Tech. and a M.Tech. from Punjab Engineering College. Dr. Rajib Kumar Mishra Director (Marketing and Business Development), PTC India Ltd. Prior to being the Director (Marketing and Business Development) of PTC India Ltd., Dr. Rajib K Mishra has worked as Executive Director of PTC since October 2011 and was responsible for Operations, Business Development, Retail & Advisory Services. Dr. Mishra played a key role in starting of PTC retail business to meet power requirements of business entity. He has professional experience of 30 years with Powergrid, NTPC and PTC India. Before joining PTC, he was General Manager (CMG) with POWERGRID. Dr. Mishra holds a PhD (Business Admin.) from Aligarh Muslim University and was accorded Visiting Scholar status by University of Texas, Austin in 2008 for his Post-doc research. He Graduated in Electrical Engineering from NIT, Durgapur and did his Post Graduation from NTNU, Norway under NORAD Fellowship.

REtopia 2017

Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra Managing Director, CLP India Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Rajiv Mishra joined the CLP Group in 2002 and has over 20 years of experience in the power industry, both in India and internationally, mostly involved in project financing, investment appraisal, finance and accounting and general management. Before assuming the role of Managing Director of CLP India, he has held a variety of senior positions in the Power Industry, such as, Deputy Managing Director/Chief Financial Officer of BLCP Power in Thailand, Finance Director of PowerGen India and Finance Director of LG Energy in Seoul, South Korea. He has successfully transformed CLP India from a single-asset and project management company to a fully-grown organization with presence across conventional and renewables sources of energy. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from BIT, Sindri and an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, and is an Advanced Management Program Graduate from Harvard Business School. Mr. H. C. Vinayaka General Manager (Technical & Sustainability), ITC Hotels An Engineer from Mysore University with more than 29 years of experience in the areas of Technical Services, Projects, Product Development, Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) and Sustainability in Hospitality industry. Currently heading the Technical and Sustainability initiatives at ITC’s Hotel business – ITC Hotels. Under his guidance & efforts, ITC Hotels has pioneered many pathbreaking initiatives and achieved world class high performance results in the area of Luxury, Resource consumption (Renewable energy, Water, Energy and Waste management), Customer service, Safety, Sustainability & Innovation. He has been recognised with many awards and accolades in the areas of Hospitality Technical Services, Projects, New Technology, EHS & Sustainability. He has been credited with the feast of embedding the Hotel Division’s Credo “Responsible Luxury” in almost all ITC Hotels. He took on the challenge of retrofitting all Luxury Hotels to LEED Platinum standards within a span of one year, a feat which resulted in ITC Hotels being recognised as “Greenest Luxury Hotel Chain in the world” in the global hospitality industry. Ms. Pooja Shukla Senior Manager- Technical, Green Business Certification Institute (GBCI) Pvt. Ltd., India Ms. Pooja Shukla has over 10 years of experience in the field of sustainable built environment. Her areas of expertise include green building design and research; review and development of policies in the energy efficiency sector in India. Ms. Shukla works with GBCI India on technical development of rating systems. As part of her role, Pooja is currently managing the regional adaptation of the WELL Building Standard. She received her Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi, India and Master of Science in Renewable Energy and Architecture from The University of Nottingham in UK. Ms. Shukla is a LEED Accredited Professional, a WELL Faculty, an IGBC Accredited Professional and an Energy Manager (certified by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Government of India). Prior to GBCI, she has worked with The Energy and Resources Institute, Spectral Services Consultants and ICLEI South Asia.

REtopia 2017

Mr. Manik M. Jolly

Founder & CEO, Grassroots & Rural Innovative Development (G.R.I.D.) Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Manik M Jolly, Founder and CEO of GRID, India has been a consultant with

World Bank on Sustainable Development - Energy access, for South Asia

(Nepal - converting Micro Hydro to Micro Solar). He is the only Indian recipient

of prestigious Echoing Green Fellowship in US for 2016 for his innovative

solution of Solar based water filtration systems, and was awarded Global Green Game changer by

WWF - UK in 2012 for his Solar Micro Grid models for Rural and un-electrified areas. Prior to this he

was heading Rural Electrification business for SunEdison for South and SE Asia region. He was

instrumental in launching Eradication of Darkness campaign in India. He electrified a remote tribal

village through Solar Micro grid, which was covered globally by TIME, MIT review etc. as a unique

business case. He was selected as one of the ten leading Global Green game changers by WWF in

2012. Mr. Jolly founded G.R.I.D. to create a base for innovative solution for energy access in

developing countries. He is an alumnus of MDI, Gurgaon and NDA, Pune.

Mr. Balram Mehta

President, Wind & Asset Management, ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd.

Balram Mehta joined ReNew Power in December, 2011 as Senior Vice

President-Techno Commercial. Before joining ReNew Power, Balram worked

with CLP Power India Limited as Vice President, Operations (Renewable),

responsible for the construction and O&M of their wind portfolio. Prior to that,

he spent close to ten years with DCM Engineering products (Foundry Unit of

DCM Group) in Electrical Maintenance and Projects Department. At ReNew Power, Balram is

responsible for the development of the company’s strategy for the growth of wind business. His role

also encompasses identifying potential new business partners and possible opportunities of

profitable association with them. Balram is an Electrical Engineer (Gold Medallist) from Regional

Engineering College, Hamirpur (HP) and has earned an MBA in Operations Management.

Mr. Binish Desai

Founder, Eco-Eclectic Technologies, & Chairman, BDream Group

Mr. Desai is an innovator and a social entrepreneur working on waste

recycling and management. With a degree in Biotechnology and an honorary

degree in Social Work, he started innovating at a very young age, 11 by

carrying out home based experiments with basic amenities. He has 19

inventions under the Eco-Eclectic Technologies banner in India and have

received many national and international awards for his contributions. In

2015, he developed eco-economical toilet to support Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and founded

BDEcordial Pvt. Ltd. Thereafter, in 2016 he founded Eco-Eclectic Technologies. The company deals

with research, development and consultancy in recycling of waste. Its research and development

facilities provides new innovative technologies to clean up the environment. In addition, he was

awarded with Rotary International Alumni Humanitarian of the year award for South Asia.

REtopia 2017

Dr. Ajay Mathur

Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

Apart from being the Director General of TERI, Dr. Mathur is also a member of the

Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change. He was Director General of the

Bureau of Energy Efficiency in the Government of India from 2006 till February

2016, and responsible for bringing energy efficiency into our homes, offices, and

factories, through initiatives such as the star labelling programme for appliances, the Energy

Conservation Building Code, and the Perform, Achieve and Trade programme for energy-intensive

industries. Dr. Mathur was earlier with TERI from 1986 to 2000, and then headed the Climate

Change Team of World Bank in Washington DC. He was President of Suzlon Energy Ltd., also

headed the interim Secretariat of the Green Climate Fund. He has been a key Indian climate-change

negotiator and was also the Indian spokesperson at the 2015 climate negotiations at Paris. A global

leader on technological approaches to address climate change, he joined the global group of

industrial, financial and think-tank leaders to co-chair an Energy Transitions Commission to suggest

ways for companies and countries to move towards climate-friendly energy futures.

Mr. Kapil Mandawewala

Founder & CEO, Edible Routes

Edible Routes is an earth and people friendly business, that provides step-by-

step guidance on how to efficiently design, plan, build and manage organic

edible rooftop and balcony gardens and farms, and create products to nurture

the earth. Mr. Mandawewala studied Management of Information Systems and

Finance from the University of Texas at Austin. He then worked for Deloitte Consulting in San

Francisco as a Senior Consultant for five years. In 2008, he relocated to Gujarat to start organic

farming at his 22-acre farmland. During the next five years, he established a Community Supported

Agriculture (CSA) system through which residents could buy local seasonal, and fresh produce

directly from the farm. He then founded Edible Routes in 2010 with an aim to help people find ways

to grow plants locally and eat seasonally within ecosystems minimizing environmental impact and

ensuring safeguard and efficient use of resources.

Mr. Sandeep Pandey

Co-Founder & CEO, Mera Gao Power

A micro-finance expert having worked at IFMR LEAD, Bhartiya Micro Credit and

SKS Microfinance, with a MBA in Operations Management, and an IVLP

(International Visitor Leadership Programme) Fellow from U.S. Department of

state, Mr. Sandeep Pandey is responsible for the overall execution of Mera Gao

Power’s business plan, ensuring the processes and manpower are in place to achieve targets. He is

an expert in developing field level processes for organizations that demand control of their operating

costs, particularly payment collection, in order to keep price to consumers low. He founded Mera

Gao Power. Mera Gao Power builds, owns, and operates micro grids in the state of Uttar Pradesh

serving off-grid villages with high quality, dependable lighting and mobile phone charging services.

MGP’s unique model is able to provide service to a typical hamlet for less than $1,000, making its

lowest cost design the first commercially viable micro grid targeted at the rural poor!

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FACE-TO-FACE

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Q. How optimistic do you feel about India's ambitious target of achieving the Renewable Energy Target of 175 GW by 2022 and the World Bank India's support in the Nation’s quest? A. There is no doubt that India has set itself an ambitious Renewable Energy Target of 175 GW by 2022 (of which 100 GW is for solar). Despite challenges, India has made significant progress on both solar and wind energy. India is one of the leading countries on renewable energy globally, with total installed solar capacity of 13 GW and wind capacity of 33 GW.

The World Bank Group (WBG) is committed to supporting India in mobilizing affordable financing at scale for its renewable energy sector, and particularly focused on solar power. The Bank is engaged with the GOI in funding over US$1 billion investments in renewable energy sector with an aim to create sustainable ecosystem enabling infusion of commercial investments and hence assisting the GOI in achieving its renewable energy goals by 2022. Specifically, WBG’s support spans across the following:

• The World Bank is providing low cost funding to rooftop solar developers under a $625 million financing through the State Bank of India (SBI). This Program aims to increase the availability of debt financing, de-risk the rooftop sector to mobilize commercial financial flows, and build capacity across the solar PV industry while significantly expanding the uptake of rooftop solar PV across India. The first 100MW of solar rooftop financing under this loan has just been approved.

• The World Bank is financing public investments in solar parks developed under a public-private partnership model. The Bank financing is supporting the development of common infrastructure, where public sector has comparative advantage by absorbing the risks associated with obtaining approvals and uncertainties around land. This enabling infrastructure to support large scale installations of solar power projects by private sector has set milestones in the sector itself. The first such engagement under this project is on Rewa Solar Park in the state of Madhya Pradesh where IFC was the transaction advisor. In this park, adequate risk allocation measures as well as the long tenor financing and thorough due diligence on safeguards by the World Bank has resulted in a record low tariff of INR 2.97 INR per unit.

• The World Bank is also supporting innovations in RE technologies through its financing support to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The project aims to invest in demonstration projects while informing decision makers on building a sustainable environment for easy and quick adoption of such technologies that will help India achieve its 2022 RE targets. A number of emerging technologies, including wind-solar hybrid (with or without storage), energy storage, and floating solar PV will be supported by the Project.

Q. Which economic policies have worked best in India for deploying the Renewable Energy? A. The National Solar Mission (NSM), with its focused approach on bidding out capacities based on tariff discovery through reverse bidding has been extremely useful in my opinion. This has strategically contributed towards a decline in solar tariffs by incentivizing the sector for initial few years (by providing ‘Viability Gap Funding’) and then moving towards competitive regime through reverse auctions. Several of the State Governments, for example Madhya Pradesh, have been very deliberate in how they have structured project transactions. The Bank Group (IFC) has helped guide

India Country Director, South Asia, World Bank

Interview with Dr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad

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this structuring and the development of a strong eco-system for solar park development – this has helped significantly in ensuring strong private participation and low costs. The Suryamitra program is also contributing towards development of necessary skillset at local level, which is being furthered by the ‘Skill India’ mission. Q. Use of Renewable Energy in Urban areas seems to have improved. How much do you think has the rural population been effected by use of Renewable energy and are there any joint measures in place, by the Government and World Bank, to make the alternative energy available to them? A. Both the rural and urban sectors have been beneficiaries of the increased penetration of renewable energy in India. Through the engagements with POWERGRID at the central level and with the states of North-East, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, the World Bank is working across the value chain to ensure that the GOI is able to deliver on its ‘Power for All’ agenda. For instance, through projects like 24/7 power in the state of Andhra Pradesh, we are partnering with the state government in improving the Transmission and Distribution network of Andhra Pradesh, which will reduce technical faults in the system, improve quality and delivery of power and make electricity available to villages of Andhra Pradesh. Further Andhra Pradesh has almost 6200 MW of renewable energy projects and World Bank is helping the Government of AP take this green powered to the end user. Similarly, development of large scale solar parks is usually in the remote rural areas of the country. For instance, 750 MW solar park in Madhya Pradesh is in the remote areas of REWS district. The World Bank is working with the government of Madhya Pradesh to explore development of renewable energy courses, skilling centers and other capacity building activities in rural MP. Q. Do you think that 100% transition to Renewable energy will be expensive? A. 100% transition to Renewable energy will be a daunting task, but not necessarily expensive. Let me give you some specific examples. In 2009, when Government of India launched the National Solar Mission, the power purchase price of solar power was around INR 17 per unit. Similar questions on expensive transition to renewables were raised. Currently, solar prices are less than INR 3 per unit and solar power has already reached grid parity. The real question is whether or not it will be expensive to integrate these renewables into the Indian system – given the level of sunk capital cost that already exists within the Indian system which would allow flexibility, the costs of integration should be able to be managed. Q. How does the World Bank support entrepreneurship in innovation and Renewable Energy? A. Let me share some facts with you first. In the United States, more people were employed in solar power in 2016 than in generating electricity through coal, gas and oil energy combined. The U.S. solar industry currently has more than 260,000 workers nationwide. This is more number of workers than Apple, Google and Facebook combined. We have to replicate and in fact, exceed these numbers in India. The data mentioned above highlights the role of entrepreneurship and the requirements for a skilled workforce and employment generation in deployment of renewable energy. For us renewable energy is not just a source of sustainable and secure energy, but a great enabler

of tomorrows enterprises, the majority of which we feel will be based on the innovation and effort of

an enlightened business community who will see RE as a great catalyst of their entrepreneurship.

The World Bank has a specific program to support entrepreneurship in innovation and Renewable

Energy under it technical assistance component of the solar roof top program. The World Bank is

partnering with green skills council of India, MNRE and other relevant partners to support

entrepreneurship in innovation and Renewable Energy.

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ARTICLES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

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V.S.K.V. Harish1, Naqui Anwer2, Amit Kumar3 1,2 Department of Energy and Environment, TERI University, New Delhi 3 Senior Director, Social transformation, TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi

India has made proficient progress in terms of generation capacity and managing the demand;

achieving lowest ever demand-supply gap both in terms of energy (0.7% deficit) and peaking (1.6%

deficit) in 2016 - 17 as compared to 2015-16 (CEA, 2017). Efforts have been made to alleviate the

problems of power shortages, rural electrifications, poor financial health of DISCOMs and non

performing energy assets through various policy interventions.

While electricity generation and capacity building is on track, the challenge lies in making the

generated electricity/energy accessible to all (power-to-all). Studies report that more than 200 million

people in India are living without reliable electricity, especially large parts of the rural areas. India

aims at achieving 100% electrification by 2022 (NITI Aayog, 2017), through its principle vehicle of

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) with an investment plan of around ₹758.93

Billion (~US$12 billion) (PIB, 2017).

As of August 2017, out of the 18,452 un-electrified census villages in India, 14,255 (77%) villages

have been electrified and 100% household connectivity has been achieved in 1,161 villages (GARV

dashboard, 2017) with electrification works under progress in 3,211 villages. With this, India

achieves 99.4% of village household or rural electrification (DDUGJY, 2017). India aims to achieve

100% village electrification by 2019 - 22 (NITI Aayog, 2017). Despite advances in electrifying rural

villages, the quality of electricity service to rural households is dismal and the problem of electricity

‘access’ has not improved appreciably. States having high electrification rates still have poor

household electrification and there are several other regions (hamlets) which were not covered in

Census 2011 and other national surveys. NITI Aayog has identified that “…. connection is not the

only factor — even duration, quality and reliability are important”.

Renewable energy based decentralized energy systems (DESs), off-grid and on-grid based

microgrids (MGs)/ home-based solar products are being considered as an optimistic solution to the

rural electrification problems in under developed and developing economies like India. Non-energy

storage home based products, though cheap, face the problem of unreliable supply of electricity

due to intermittent nature of solar or wind generation. Affordability of purchasing power from the grid

or solar based products from the market is one prime challenge that has hampered the growth rate

of rural electrification in India. Problem of intermittency is solved by implementing a distributed

Solving rural electrification problems through peer

to peer sharing of energy

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storage unit which increases the cost and suffers energy loss while power transmission due to

degradation of battery while charging and discharging processes.

Development of a transactive energy system which shall facilitate Peer-to-Peer (P2P) sharing of

energy can solve the problem of delivering sustainable power at affordable prices for low income

rural people. Designing decentralised P2P MGs which deliver localised generated power to

households and businesses in rural areas enables the local villagers to trade the (excess) electricity

for profit; thereby, creating a sustainable business model. A reliable, economically competitive and

environmentally sustainable electric power system can be achieved through an active P2P micro

grid thereby addressing the issues of energy security and environmental strains.

In a P2P energy sharing network, any household (peer) could produce its own energy, using

renewable energies like solar energy, and sell its surplus to others (other peers) who need it. For

instance, at any time (hour) of the day, if a household has excess electric power beyond its own

demand, then under such a condition excess power can be transferred to some other households in

need via dedicated transmission lines. This P2P energy can also be scaled up and operated as an

energy sharing network within a microgrid and with other MGs. In such a situation a MG then

becomes a peer. By exploiting the diversified energy generation and consumption profiles of the

MGs at different geographical locations, the P2P sharing network gains many advantages. For

instance, the energy transmission loss can be reduced for the short distance transmissions between

neighboring MGs. Moreover, with a well-designed trading scheme, each individual MG can benefit

from the P2P energy network, e.g., each MG will enjoy a lower purchase price and a higher selling

price in the P2P network, in comparison with the external main grid.

The main challenge however, remains in implementing a P2P sharing strategy for villages with no

electrical infrastructure. In such a case, a local entrepreneur can step up and buy local energy

generation products with batteries and a P2P sharing strategy could be developed taking into

account transportation cost, degradation of the battery while moving it from one peer to the other.

Also, such strategies should be flexible enough to be scaled up or down in situations where other

households join or unjoin the developed P2P network.

Readers, interested to share insights are encouraged to go through the project website (https://

indiasmartgrids.com/) and get in touch via email (harish@teriuniversity.ac.in).

References:

• Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Load Generation Balance Report 2017-18, May 2017

• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) dashboard, Ministry of Power,

Government of India, August 2017

• Grameen Vidyutikaran (GARV) dashboard, Ministry of Power, Government of India, NITI Aayog,

Government of India, Draft National Energy Policy, June 2017

• Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India, Ministry of Power, May 2017

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Soudipan Maity M.Tech. REEM 2016-2018 (3rd Semester) Department of Energy and Environment Since long, the “skeptics” and the “deniers”, funded by corporate interests of

the oil and gas industry and blinded by greed of short-term profits, have continued their systemized

denials of the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is real and driven by manmade

activities including the burning of fossil fuels. Flagrant objection and lobbying against every proposed

policy remake which could have timely curbed the degradation has become a staple for them.

People belonging to these camps defy the human spirit and our history of innovation and resilience.

It is not really a “debate” any more. Assessment Report 5, formulated by the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), one of the largest scientific report ever undertaken, analyzed

9,300 peer-reviewed research papers submitted by scientists from all over the globe. The fact that

climate change is happening now, is indisputable, and we cannot afford the time and effort to

convince the unconvinced at this juncture. Irrefutable evidence from around the world, including

extreme weather events, record temperatures, retreating glaciers and rising sea levels, all point to

the fact that the change is happening as we speak and at rates much faster than previously thought.

Looking at these dramatic changes, some have implied that we may have left the Holocene and are

heading towards the Anthropocene, an epoch in which humans are the primary drivers of change on

Planet Earth.

How is our climate changing?

Earth has been warming steadily now for over 100 years, in concert with rising carbon pollution that

has wrapped the planet with a veil of heat-trapping gases. After decades of carbon pollution and

deforestation, we are now regularly witnessing record-breaking hot months and hot years. 2016 had

surpassed 2015 as the hottest year on record and the immediate future doesn’t look any promising.

A small shift in Earth’s average temperature produces a dramatic transformation in the climate and

we have already traveled part way down that road.

Ice, which covers 10% of Earth's surface, is disappearing rapidly. Between 1900 and 1980, the

extent of Arctic ice measured constant at approximately 8.5 million square kilometers, has fallen

below 5 million kilometers. The same phenomenon is being documented for nearly all of 160,000

mountain glaciers, some of which will likely disappear within the next decade. Polar ice caps reflects

the sunlight and keeps the polar regions cool, thereby moderating global climate. The more it melts,

the more the dark surfaces of the ocean becomes and ground gets exposed, which absorb heat

instead of reflecting it, creating a vicious cycle that puts even more heat into the oceans and

increases the warming. In the past 5 years, the rate of ice volume loss has accelerated dramatically,

doubling in Greenland and tripling in West Antarctica. The heat content of the oceans has multiplied

5-fold since 1980, causing “thermal expansion,” which accounts for roughly half of total sea level

rise. This combination has already produced 19 cm of sea level rise since the year 1900 and it is

Landing the death knell on life as we know it

Last Call for Planet Earth

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increasing quickly - 3 times faster in the past two decades than the century average. Current models

predict between 8 - 48 cm of sea level rise by 2050 (relative to 2000 levels) and more than double

that by the end of the century, enough to put the coastal communities around the world at the risk

of extreme flooding. Oceans absorb more than one-fourth of all the CO2 pollution emitted each year,

and this is changing the very chemistry of the oceans. Ocean acidity has increased 30% since 1700,

and will likely double by the end of the century - 10 times greater than anything seen in the last 50

million years. This threaten the very foundation of the marine food chain and the fisheries that feed

more than 3 billion people. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the mid-latitudes, and some

experts believe this could be affecting the Polar Jet Stream – the undulating river of air in our

atmosphere that drives weather patterns in the northern hemisphere. Scientists now know there is a

strong correlation between the surface temperature of the ocean during the summer and the

intensity of tropical storms. The warmer the oceans, the more energy storms have as they form in

the Atlantic. This could account in part for the dramatic increase in major hurricanes (greater than

Category 3) over the past 20 years. Based on records from the Hurricane Database (HURDAT) in

the period from 1900-1980, major hurricanes occurred at an average of 2 per year, but in the period

since 1980, the average has tripled to more than 6 per year, with two Category 5 hurricanes already

having emerged in 2017. Warmer air can hold more water vapor, and when it condenses in the air, it

creates more intense but less frequent downpours of rain, making wet areas wetter. Because water

vapor itself acts like a greenhouse gas, another vicious cycle is created - more moisture means

more heat which creates even more moisture. Many of the world’s great rivers are fed by glaciers

and mountain snowpack. For them, increased temperatures mean less snow and ice, and increased

evaporation. This is particularly daunting for arid regions like the American southwest, north Africa,

and west China, which rely on glacier and snow melt to fill their rivers, replenishing water supplies.

What does the future look like?

Not very promising, I fear. We still have time to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, but if

we aren’t able to pressure our governments to start taking bold actions, we could see 4°C of global

temperature rise in the future which could unleash a series of catastrophic impacts on our planet,

threatening life as we know it, within this century.

Heat waves: Since 1950, the number of heat waves worldwide has increased, and has become

longer with the hottest days becoming hotter and more frequent. This is only going to deteriorate.

Disease spread: The increase in global temperatures, which is bringing change in rainfall patterns

and lengthening summers, is giving insects/vectors a better breeding opportunity and has already

been resulting in disease outbreaks in regions previously not known to have them.

Decreased Food and Water: Within the next 40 years, one-fourth of the glaciers will be gone, and by

2030 nearly half of the world’s population will be living in regions with water stress. In addition to

greatly reducing water access and water quality for billions, this trend will increase the likelihood of

prolonged drought in arid regions that rely on glacial melt and snowpack for the irrigation of crops.

Bigger hotter wildfires: Recent drought conditions in regions like California and Australia show that

rising temperatures create the conditions for bigger, hotter wildfires in four major ways - longer fire

seasons, drier conditions, more fuel, and more lightning strikes, which can ultimately result to global

damages of natural resources to as much as $ 300 billion.

More storm damage: While natural variability continues to play a key role in extreme weather,

climate change has shifted the odds, making certain types of extreme weather, like tornadoes and

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hurricanes much more frequent, and increasingly intense and devastating.

Coastal Displacement: This would have enormous impacts for more than one billion people living in

low-lying coastal areas, particularly in Asia where 200 million people could be forced out of their

homes. In Europe an estimated 13 million people will be affected and in the U.S. entire states could

be subdivided by water. As water reaches farther inland, it can cause destructive erosion, flooding of

wetlands, contamination of aquifers and agricultural soils, and lost habitat for fish, birds, and plants.

Growing conflict: For the more than 3 billion people worldwide living in poverty, the combination of

impacts will have devastating impacts – destroying homes, reducing food security, and increasing

health and mortality risks. This will result in enormous mass migrations of people and intense

competition for resources, driving global conflict. An earlier 2007 Pentagon study had described

climate change as a “threat multiplier” but latest studies makes a direct linkage between the impacts

of global warming and international violence.

Economic Impacts: It goes without saying that climate change is not only bad for people, it has

massive economic repercussions for both the public and private sectors. It poses extreme threats to

the stability of both local and national economies.

Species Decline: Climate change is expected to greatly reduce the natural habitat for more than one

-third of all animal species and half of all plant species on land by 2050, threatening as much as

25% of all terrestrial species with extinction by the end of the century.

Ecosystem collapse: The flora and fauna that keep marine and wildland ecosystems healthy, are

enormously productive contributors to our global economy. Recent studies have estimated that

these ecosystems provide us with over $100 trillion in services every year, most of which we take for

granted — like pollination of crops, purification of water, and production of medicinal compounds.

Without a healthy, thriving natural world it is safe to say the entire global economy would collapse.

One new study suggests that 2/3 of the Earth's land (44% as intact natural ecosystems and 22% as

agroecological buffers) must be protected to sustain the biosphere. Otherwise an ecosystem

collapse could occur much sooner than thought.

Where will people be hardest hit?

Everyone will be affected by climate change. We have already loaded the atmosphere to levels of

greenhouse gases that are unprecedented in human history. Barring the development of very

advanced (and unpredictable) technologies, we will have to live with, and adapt as much as possible

to, the negative impacts of those concentrations.

The negative impacts know no national boundaries, they will affect every country. However, it is

evident that those populations that have better physical infrastructure and higher socio-economic

resilience will be able to withstand and/or recuperate from the impacts faster. Conversely those

populations with poor infrastructure and less resilience will be more deeply affected and will need

longer recuperation time.

Beyond this difference, what is critical to keep in mind is that the impacts will very much depend on

the timing of when we bend the curve of emissions: we must soon achieve the turning point of

emissions, reverting the current trend of increase toward one of decrease. Science tells us that we

have approximately 4-5 years to achieve this turning point. After that we may not be able to keep

average global temperature rise to 1.5°C, and keeping the rise to 2°C will become more expensive.

Breaching those temperature limits will have severe social and economic impacts on everyone,

making it practically impossible to reach most of the agreed Sustainable Development Goals put

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forward in the Paris Agreement. There is a clear collective responsibility here, but there is also a

wealth of opportunities to be reaped from a decarbonized economy. Nations, cities, corporations

and citizens are rapidly understanding that decarbonization is inherent in better health, enhanced

energy security, increased energy access, soil restoration, enhanced food security, and more livable

cities. We conclude that unabated climate change will adversely affect everyone, but addressing it in

a timely fashion will actually benefit all.

What are the solutions?

The good news is that climate change can be solved today with readily available technologies and

sustainability measures. It will take significant investments on the part of governments and

businesses, but that investment will be a small fraction of the price we would have to pay for

increasing natural disasters and other climate impacts. New research has shown that using currently

available technologies, we can meet all of our energy needs for heating, electricity, and

transportation through 100% clean renewable sources by mid-century. We can get on track by

2020, when the Paris Agreements enters into force by reducing pollution through a price on carbon

and protecting our forest and ocean ecosystems.

“ I’ve been fortunate enough to see the earth from space when I was an astronaut. We all live on an

unbelievably beautiful planet. Earth and the life on Earth has evolved together to fit each other

perfectly. But, we humans are changing the planet and its climate in a potentially disastrous way.

To rectify our wrongdoings and to reach a safer future, we will need the resources of everybody

here, the scientists, the policymakers and the industrialists, all working together towards a common

goal and that goal is a planet that will continue to support life that includes all of us. ”

- Piers John Sellers (1955-2016)

Meteorologist, NASA astronaut

Director, Earth Science Division at Goddard Space Flight Center

References: https://climate.nasa.gov/ https://www.beforetheflood.com

Renewables: Achieve 100% by 2050 Raising Government Ambition: The INDCs

Able leadership of subnational governments Buildings of the Future: Energy Efficiency

Promote Reforestation: 2011 Bonn Challenge Green Cities: Promote urban resiliency

Enforce the 17 Sustainable Development Goals Net Zero Solutions: Sustainability in daily life

Price on Carbon: Tax Polluters, Reward Pioneers Clean Transportation: Switch to electric vehicles

Climate Adaptation: Make Communities Safe Ocean Conservation: Protect marine areas

Business Leadership: Scale Innovation Waste Reduction: Efficient use of resources

Climate Education: Children Are The Future Nuclear Power is not the answer

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Chandana Sashidharan M.Tech. REEM 2016-2018 (3rd Semester) Department of Energy and Environment

The story of solar photovoltaics research is essentially a game of ‘areas’ revolving around the key

words of efficiency and cost. Though the cost came down over the years with economy of scale, the

efficiency curves of most cells remain almost ‘plateaued’ without major breakthroughs even after

years of research. Lower cost of production was generally resulted in solar cells of lower energy

conversion efficiency. Perovskite solar cells appear to have changed the rules of the game encircling

the trade-off between cost and performance.

When Perovskite solar cells emerged in 2008 as a low-cost technology with an efficiency of just

3.8%, it did not attract much attention from the research community. A few pragmatic research

collaborations brought unexpected twists and a paradigm shift. Currently, there are hardly any solar

research groups not associated with Perovskite cells. Fast forward to March 2016 and Perovskite

cells set a new world record efficiency performance at 22.1%. For the first time in history of solar

cells an efficiency advancement happened in the shortest span of time making Perovskites the

fastest advancing technology in Solar.

Fig: Perovskite crystal structure and schematic representation of a perovskite solar cell

A perovskite is any material with a crystal structure similar to Calcium Titanium Oxide formed by two

cations and an anion. Perovskites named after the after Russian mineralogist Lev Perovski refers to

a crystal structure denominated by ABX3. While the bigger cation A occupies the cube edges, the

smaller cation B occupies the body center and the anion X occupies the face center. The Perovskite

solar cells are made from cheap Organic-Metal halide crystals using low cost processing

techniques. In Perovskite cells, A is an organic molecule like methyl ammonium or formamidinium

instead of an elemental atom. In a perovskite solar cell, the semiconducting perovskite material is

embedded between two layers. One of the layers is an electron transport layer while the second

layer is a hole transport layer. The electron transport layer is formed by compact and porous

Titanium oxide. The electron hole pairs are generated when the Perovskite layer absorbs light as

electrons are excited from valance band. Charge separation process aided by the work function

difference between the electron and hole transport layers creates a current in the external circuit.

The game changer in solar PV

An insight into Perovskite revolution:

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The initial interest in Perovskites was centered around Japanese CREST (Core Research for

Evolutionary Science and Technology) project following the work of Dr. David Mitzi on non-

photovoltaic applications. Researchers in Japanese universities continued research into Perovskites

even after the completion of CREST project in 2003. A key turning point was when Dr Kenjiro

Teshima and Dr. Tsutomu Miyasaka joined hands providing a direct link between perovskites and

dye sensitized solar cells. They presented a dye sensitized solar cell with Methyammonium Lead

Bromide perovskite with 2.2% efficiency in 2006.

In dye sensitized solar cells the electrons generated when light absorbed by a dye is carried away by

semiconductor material like Titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Perovskites which can absorb light

efficiently over a broad spectrum emerged as an attractive replacement for dyes in the dye

sensitized solar cells. Professor Nam-Gyu Park, from Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University stimulated

by Miyasaka’s work was able to improve the efficiency to 6.5%. But perovskites suffered from poor

stability primarily due to the liquid contacts and iodine solution used in dye sensitized cells.

The foresight of Henry Snaith of Oxford university to fabricate a solid-state version of the device

materialized into successful collaboration with Dr. Takurou Murakami of Toin university. The

combined efforts of the Oxford and Toin university team had significant implications than the

removal of the need for the dye. The story took an interesting turn as the researchers realized that

perovskites are also excellent charge carriers which could transport both holes and electrons.

Replacing the nanoporous layer of Titanium oxide with non-conducting aluminum oxide resulted in

solid state cells with a reported efficiency of 10.9%.

However, the credits of the first published report on good performance for solid state perovskite cell

go to Dr. Hui-Seon Kim of the parallel research team led by Dr Park, who achieved 9.7% efficiency

by decreasing the thickness of the titanium oxide film. Another significant development led by the

research team at the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan was the application of

architectures initially developed for organic photovoltaics to perovskites. The above developments

led many dye-sensitized cells and organic photovoltaics researchers resort to perovskite research.

The increase in research focus was fruitful to the Perovskites and the subsequent papers published

the world reported rapid increase in efficiencies. An efficiency of 15% was reported for a simplified

solar cell structures using a layer of perovskite without the titanium dioxide particles in 2013 by two

separate research teams. Further research focusing on the structural defect reduction and tweaking

chemical composition successfully pushed cell efficiencies higher and higher in lighting speed.

Another Korean group at KRICT (Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology) made

formamidinium lead iodide perovskite cells of 20.1% efficiency in 2014. KRICT together with Ulsan

National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) made headlines once again with 22.1%

efficiency confirmed for a 0.095 cm2 cell and 19.7% efficiency for a much larger 1 cm2 device.

The Achilles’ heel of Perovskite technology is its lead content. Laboratories have found some

success using tin instead of lead, but at a lower efficiency. Improving stability of the perovskite cells

is another focus of the current research. Perovskite cells when deposited in tandem with silicon cells

have been reported to show better stability. The confirmed efficiency levels of silicon perovskite

hybrid cell is 23.6% as reported by Arizona and Stanford universities for a 1cm2 cell. This efficiency

level is higher than the reported efficiency of a perovskite cell (22.1%), but lower than that of the

silicon cell at 26.6%. With the rapid pace of progress aided by the increasing number of

collaborative researchers it is possible that this gap is bridged within a fraction of years and

perovskite silicon hybrid cells could emerge as the highest efficiency solar cell.

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D. Priyatam Yasaswi

M.Tech. REEM 2017-19 (1st Semester)

Department of Energy and Environment

During the ancient time, buildings constructed were primitive shelters made from stones, sticks,

animal skins and other natural materials. Since then, we have come a long way in the construction

of buildings and in use of building materials. In today’s world, buildings are of numerous types –

commercial, residential, educational, governmental, industrial etc. Likewise, several types of

materials are being used for construction of buildings - bricks, concrete, glass, plastics, stainless

steel, wood etc. However, these buildings do some serious damage to the environment. They use

energy and water inefficiently, emit large quantities of greenhouse gases and pollutants, generate

large amounts of waste in their construction and operation.

Therefore, a complete overhaul is needed in the manner in which buildings are constructed and

operated in India. For this to happen, the government should implement a strong policy where it

encourages and incentivizes the sustainable way of constructing and operating buildings. The

sooner this is done, the better. This is because of various reasons. Firstly, with the ever increasing

population of India, which is estimated to reach 1.7 billion by 2050, it is going to be extremely

difficult to provide basic housing facilities for a large number of people if we continue with the current

way of construction. Furthermore, with the rate at which India is witnessing development and

urbanization, construction of buildings for various purposes is going to be critical. It is in our best

interests to ensure that the environmental impact from this is minimal. Lastly, we must make sure

that we make best use of technologies and designs so that buildings are disaster resistant and also

help us adapt to climate change which is becoming evident.

Fortunately, the Government of India seems to have given due consideration to this concern in two

of its prestigious missions – Smart Cities Mission (SCM) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

The SCM lists housing and inclusiveness (expanded housing opportunity for all) as a feature,

affordable housing, especially for the poor as a core infrastructure element and Energy Efficient and

Green Buildings as a smart solution to energy management. The PMAY - lists Green Building

concepts using natural resources as a technological solution. There are more than enough reasons

for a greater need to focus on a sustainable way to construct and operate buildings. And that (for

now) is to opt for Green buildings.

Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use

energy, water and materials; and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment,

through better sitting, design, construction, operation and maintenance through the life cycle of a

building. Simply put, green buildings use land and energy efficiently, conserve water and other

resources, improve indoor and outdoor air quality and increase the use of recycled and renewable

materials. The major triggers that would increase the levels of green building globally include:

“Building” the Green Future

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• Client Demand - This has been a consistent driver for green globally. This demand is generated

by creating public awareness of benefits of green buildings.

• Environmental Regulations - This varies widely with countries. In general, stringent regulations

attract more investments.

• Others - Many other factors such as healthier neighbourhoods, lower operating costs, right thing

to do, market transformation etc. contribute to the growth of Green Buildings.

In India, 52% of respondents consider environmental regulation as one of the top triggers for new

green building. It greatly exceeds the global average of 35%. Healthier neighbourhood comes in as

the second important cause. This demonstrates the importance of residential market for driving

growth in green buildings in India. Social reasons too, have an influence on the growth of green

buildings. Creating a sense of community, encouraging sustainable business practices are among

the most important social reasons for building green in India.

The environmental reasons for switching to green buildings are

• Reduced Energy Consumption - The use of properly designed and highly efficient lighting

system, HVAC system, high quality insulation, renewable energy sources, materials with low

embodied energy affect the building energy consumption dramatically. The latest practice of

bringing down the buildings energy waste by connecting different equipments to an IT network

and applying automated analytics and controls is done in Smart/ Intelligent buildings.

• Land use - Site for green buildings is selected such that there is less environmental impact,

minimum sprawl and reduced car dependency.

• Construction Materials - Natural materials, recycled materials and materials with low embodied

energy are used.

• Water consumption - Improved technology and low - flow fixtures are used to reduce water

consumption. Rain water runoff is eliminated with provision for rainwater harvesting and increase

in the catchment area of the building.

• Air Quality - Materials with zero or low emissions are put to use. Proper ventilation along with

filtration of air is ensured for removal of hazardous particles. Innovations such as Vertical forests,

living buildings, forest cities promise better air quality.

Challenges to increased green building activity are wide ranging and varying with country.

• The top challenge is higher perceived first costs. However, this has come down significantly over

the years.

• Lack of public awareness is the highest selected hindrance to growth of green buildings in India.

This is typical for developing countries.

• Lack of political support, incentives is another most common challenge in many of the

developing countries such as Brazil, Poland, Mexico, etc.

The green building activity around the world is definitely on the rise. In the case of India, the

anticipated activity in green buildings is significantly higher than global averages. But still, lack of

public awareness, incentives act as barriers preventing the growth of green market. To address

these issues, there needs to be a whole new comprehensive policy which encourages Green

Buildings by creating public awareness and providing incentives through various schemes, thereby

ensuring that the existing method of construction and operation of buildings is taken out of practice.

The government can set an example by making sure that all its upcoming buildings are sustainable

in every way. Thus giving a message that it is indeed ‘Building’ the green future.

REtopia 2017

Gautham Molleti M.Tech. REEM 2017-19 (1st Semester) Department of Energy and Environment

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but

the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

Change is inevitable, we cannot stop it, but merely adapt to it. Humans as a species have reached

the top of the chain but as part of an ecosystem have failed miserably. In the quest for betterment

of civilization, we are destroying the very nature we are meant to protect, preserve and coexist with.

The biggest change we face today is the climate change. It is real and occurring at a rapid rate. The

greenhouse gases play a significant role in this. Carbon dioxide is the largest contributor in global

warming with a share of 60%. In order to combat this we have chosen several alternative energy

sources out of which solar and wind energy are the most preferred.

Solar panel is one of the leading tools in harvesting energy from the sun. It is made up of solar cells

classified into first, second and third generation cells. The first generation cells also called as

conventional or wafer based cells which are made of crystalline silicon, the commercially

predominant PV technology, that include materials such as polysilicon and monocrystalline silicon.

Second generation cells are thin wafer solar cells, that include amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride

and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) that are commercially significant in utility scale

photovoltaic power stations or in small stand-alone power system. The third generation includes a

number of thin film technologies often described as emerging photovoltaics but most of them have

not yet been commercially applied. The use of solar panels has quite a lot of advantages, from

reduced energy bills to various diverse applications. It is no doubt a worthy renewable energy

technology, but the question here is how clean and environment friendly it truly is?

The toxic chemicals are a problem at the beginning of solar panels life i.e. during its construction

and at its end during disposal. The vast majority of solar cells today start as quartz, the most

common form of silica (silicon dioxide) which is refined into elemental silicon. The quartz is extracted

from the mines which puts the miners at risk of the lung disease, silicosis. The initial refining turns

quartz into metallurgical grade silicon. The resulting emissions of this process are Carbon dioxide

and Sulphur dioxide which are properly disposed and don’t pose a threat to the people working at

the refineries or the immediate environment. The next step however, turning metallurgical grade

silicon into a purer form called polysilicon creates a highly toxic compound silicon tetrachloride. The

refinement process involves combining hydrochloric acid with the metallurgical grade silicon to turn it

into trichlorosilanes. The trichlorosilanes react with added hydrogen producing polysilicon along with

silicon tetrachloride. Every ton of polysilicon produces four tons of silicon tetrachloride. Most of the

waste can be recycled but the recycling equipment costs millions of dollars, so in order to save

money it is just thrown away. It is highly toxic capable of killing plants and animals and when it mixes

with water, releases hydrochloric acid which acidifies the soil and emits harmful fumes. Countries

Solar Panel – A Double Edged Sword

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like China, one of the leading manufacturers of solar panels do not regulate how the toxic waste is

dumped into the environment. This problem could completely go away as researchers are looking

for ways to make polysilicon with ethanol, to avoid the creation of silicon tetrachloride all together.

The struggle to keep photovoltaics green doesn’t end there, solar panel manufacturers purify

chunks of polysilicon to form ingots which are sliced into wafers. Then impurities are introduced into

the silicon wafers, creating the essential solar cell architecture that produces the photovoltaic effect.

Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) is used in plasma etching of silicon wafers. It is predominantly employed in

cleaning of the plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECD) chambers in high volume

production of silicon based thin film solar cells. In these applications NF3 is broken down by plasma

and resulting fluorine atoms are active cleaning agents that polysilicon, silicon nitride and silicon

dioxide. The process utilization of chemicals applied is below 20%, hence some of the NF3 escapes

into the atmosphere. NF3 is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential (GWP) 17200 times

greater than that of carbon dioxide when compared over a 100 year period. It has an estimated

atmospheric lifetime of 740 years. It has risen from 0.02 ppt (parts per trillion) in 1980 to 0.86 ppt in

2011 or about 11% per year. NF3 was not included in the Kyoto Protocol recognized greenhouse

gases until 2012. It was included in the second Kyoto Protocol compliance period.

Elemental fluorine has been introduced as an environment friendly replacement for NF3 in the

manufacture of thin film solar cells. Today’s dominant thin film technologies are cadmium telluride

and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). Each of these technologies use compounds containing

the heavy metal cadmium, which is both a carcinogen and a genotoxin meaning that it can cause

inheritable mutations. Toxicity isn’t the only concern; the manufacturing of solar cells consumes

large amounts of electricity and water.

Solar Panel technology is indeed a great tool for utilization of solar energy but we need to ensure the

pros outweigh the cons. In our attempt to save the environment, the path we choose shouldn’t do

more harm than good, after all the means should justify the end.

Atmospheric lifetime & GWP relative to CO2 at different time horizon for various greenhouse gases

Gas name Chemical for-

mula Lifetime (years)

Global warming potential (GWP) for given time horizon

20-yr 100-yr 500-yr

Carbon dioxide CO2 30–95 1 1 1

Methane CH4 12 72 25 7.6

Nitrous oxide N2O 114 289 298 153

CFC-12 CCl2F2 100 11000 10900 5200

HCFC-22 CHClF2 12 5160 1810 549

Tetrafluoromethane CF4 50000 5210 7390 11200

Hexafluoroethane C2F6 10000 8630 12200 18200

Sulfur hexafluoride SF6 3200 16300 22800 32600

Nitrogen trifluoride NF3 740 12300 17200 20700

REtopia 2017

Gulfam Raza Naqvi S.M.

M.Tech. REEM 2017-19 (1st Semester)

Department of Energy and Environment

“Necessity is the mother of invention”

In the 18th century the Industrial Revolution began in The Great Britain. It was

a period of technological innovations led by Britain and contributed by India, China and other parts

of the Europe. By the mid of 18th century the wave of Industrialization had reached far and wide,

with coal became synonymous to growth. Use of fossil fuels as an energy source had just begun,

without the vicious tags of Global warming, Climate change, and Air Pollution. Industries were

creating jobs, economy was growing, people were getting access to greater opportunities, and a

chain reaction was taking place.

To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The hazardous effects of fossil fuels started

catching up with the good. Earth has its own immune system to balance the temperature and

releases heat (infrared radiation) from its surface through the atmosphere into the space. As the

industrialization spread, heat absorbing gases or GHG increased (namely CO2, methane

CH4, nitrous oxide NO2 and derivatives NOx, and chloroflouro carbon CFC).

The level of CO2 concentration started to increase and has been increasing rapidly since 1900s. If

numbers weren't enough to make our heart stop, the effects ensure the final blow. Exposure to

these gases causes dangerous health problems like asthma, coughing, wheezing, difficulty in

breathing, cardiovascular disease, heart disease, respiratory infections, lung cancer and stroke.

According to WHO estimate (2014), every year 7 million premature deaths occur worldwide. India

has the highest death rate by air pollution chiefly by asthma than other nations. In December 2013

air pollution estimated, to kill 500,000 people in china each year. In Europe, estimated deaths are

430,000 every year chiefly by nitrogen oxide and other nitrogen oxides NOx. Urban outdoor air

pollution estimated to cause 1.3 million deaths worldwide each year mostly Children involved due to

immature digestive system.

Energy consumption goes hand in

hand with development. The projected

energy consumption of the world is

expected to increase astronomically as

countries develop and the poor

countries get electrified. This is one of

the major drivers for Renewable

Energy. In a nutshell, if one wanted to

sum up renewables, Sun is

the ultimate source of all renewable

energies. Prior to development of fossil

Renewable Energy – The future of Energy

REtopia 2017

fuels, nearly all the energy used was renewable, such as biomass, wind, solar, geothermal and

hydropower.

An over-view of the Existing Renewable Energy

1. Solar: Solar include two types of technologies active and passive, active signifies energy

generation and passive refers to efficient utilization of energy like Green Buildings. Active

technologies utilize direct solar energy either through solar thermal or solar PV. In solar thermal,

the electromagnetic radiation from the sun falls on the black body to generate heat. This heat

generates steam and runs a turbine for electricity generation. In solar PV, primarily a

semiconductor based technology, converts solar radiation into direct electricity with the help of

photoelectric effect.

2. Wind: A 7000 year old energy, found it's initial use to drive ships. History suggests that

Egyptians were the foremost users of Wind as an energy. Currently, the energy of wind is

utilized via wind turbines to produce electricity. Two types of wind farms exist, Offshore and

Onshore. As the names suggests, Onshore refers to land based construction and offshore to

sea. Earth with a composition of 70% water and 30% land, shows immense potential for

development of Offshore wind farms in terms of economic feasibility.

3. Biomass: Biomass is the oldest form of energy, estimated to be 200,000 to 400,000 years ago.

Biomass is a term used for all materials which are biogenic in nature. Mostly biomass is a

product of photosynthesis which comprises biochemical reaction of CO2, sunlight and water. It

includes wood, leaves, animal dung and other organic matter. By this energy source we can

generate power for electricity as well as fuels (biofuels) for transportation.

4. Hydro-Power: Small hydro power uses energy of water to rotate turbine to generate electricity.

Unlike large hydel power plants, Small hydel power plants are suitable for small scale

consumptions of local communities and industries without posing great environmental impacts

on rain and snowfall pattern. Generation capacity of small hydro varies from country to country.

In India, it is up to 25 MW for small hydro.

5. Geothermal: Geothermal energy refers to the thermal (heat) energy generated and stored within

the earth. This heat can be used for generating steam, which would rotate the turbine and

thereafter generate electricity.

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6. Other Renewables: Other renewables include tidal, wave and OTEC (ocean thermal energy

conversion). Development of these resources is still in the nascent stages, owing to higher cost

of development. The salty water of the ocean rusts and damages the equipment used leading to

lower economic efficiency.

Rapid transformational changes are occurring in Renewables. By 2040, renewable energy is

projected to equal coal and natural gas electricity generation. Countries like Denmark, Germany,

States of South Australia and some United States have achieved high integration of variable

renewables.

In 2015, Wind accounted for 42% of electricity demand in Denmark, 23.2% in Portugal and 15.5%

in Uruguay. India has planned for 175 GW energy generation from Renewables by 2022. Inter

connectors enable countries to balance electricity systems by allowing the import and export of

renewable energy. Innovative hybrid systems have emerged between countries and regions.

Ensuring greater use of renewables secures our future and paves a path to stable energy

generation. Such a shift will not only provide short term benefits like employment, increased

productivity but also improved livelihood and a better World.

Harsimran Kaur

MTech. REEM 2016-2018 (3rd semester)

Department of Energy and Environment

The electric car revolution presents an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to all

the countries round the world that import a large amount of oil. They pay

billions of dollars every day to oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, etc. India, being

the third largest oil-importer, only trailing behind the US and China, is no stranger to this problem.

While it was indeed surprising when India’s Power Minister proclaimed a goal of 100% electric

vehicle nation by 2030, it also made a lot of sense. Billions and billions of dollars spent on oil

imports, worst air pollution in the world and basically no economic benefit from oil, meant that India

would be much better off if it powered its cars with home generated clean electricity instead of oil.

Connected Car: Speed Bumps and the Road Ahead

REtopia 2017

While the details are yet to be worked out, this is an ambitious plan nonetheless. And every such

ambitious plan is followed by a wide array of hurdles. The biggest one of them being the charging

infrastructure.

Hurdle #1: Charging Infrastructure

Owning an electric car in India is like having a vehicle on a leash. The driving distance is limited by

the charge the battery holds because you will not be able to charge it until you are back home.

That’s the electric charging infrastructure in India for you.

What makes this a more frustrating hurdle to overcome is the inherent paradox: What comes first?

The demand for cars or charging stations? It’s a chicken and egg cliché playing out. Without

charging infrastructure, eco-friendly diehards will be the only ones buying EVs. Without sales of EVs

ramping up, no electricity distribution utility or a third party can come forward to set up charging

infrastructure.

Most of the EV owners in India charge their vehicles at their residences. With only about 200 odd

community charging stations in the country (thanks partly to start-ups like pluginindia.com), there is

a significant chance of an EV owner getting stranded in the absence of a nearby charging station.

Evidently, if India is to become 100% EV nation by 2030, all the infrastructure developers and policy

makers need to plan for a sufficient amount of charging stations in the country to provide for hassle

free commuting.

The app-based cab service, Ola and Mahindra recently launched a pilot project at Nagpur where

they intend to deploy 200 electric vehicles for its cab hire service. Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd.

has also announced plans to set up 1000 charging stations across Delhi. But these are just sporadic

plans and on the ground progress is yet to be seen.

Hurdle #2: Recharging Time

It takes 5-8 hours for an electric car to charge from the normal residential socket and about one

hour in case of fast charging. People today are used to less than a few minutes of refuelling and

anything more feels like a very long time.

Increasing the speed of charging has its own implications. Rapidly increasing the amount of power

that a single EV can draw from the grid will create a spike in consumption. This calls for redefining

the existing grid infrastructure to accommodate for EVs as storage (think Smart Grids).

BattSwap – The solution?

A possible solution to reduce the charging time of the EVs is swapping the depleted battery for a

fully recharged one at the station. This way you are reducing your charging time from hours to a

couple of minutes and also since multiple swaps can be done, there is no limitation of the range.

SUN mobility plants to buy power from solar power plants and store it in the batteries that can be

swapped with the depleted ones right away. Hero Future Energies have also announced plans to set

up solar charging stations for recharging the depleted batteries.

The other big advantage of swapping batteries is the capital cost of EV. Batteries account for 30-

50% of an electric car’s cost and swappable battery system, brings down the cost of the EVs to as

much as its petrol and diesel counterparts. With high volumes, they can even be potentially cheaper.

While India’s EV industry tries to overcome these hurdles, establishing charging standards and tariffs

REtopia 2017

for charging would be the key requirements in accelerating the installation of charging infrastructure

and mass adoption of electric vehicles.

What’s in store for Power and Utilities?

Along with curbing the pollution due to CO2 emissions, the EVs stand to positively address various

issues faced by power and utilities sector.

1. EVs combined with renewables can act as distributed base loads, thus providing an efficient

solution to maintaining grid stability with intermittent renewable energy.

2. Charging the EVs during the off-peak hours would help increase the utilization of base load. This

would significantly improve the PLF of coal power plants resulting in reduction generation cost.

3. High storage cost is considered to be the Achilles heel for extensive renewable development.

High demand for batteries would bring down the costs considerably which in turn will lower the

renewable energy cost and make the evacuation of power generated by renewable sources

more efficient.

4. Cheaper storage combined with net metering would encourage the distributed generation in

difficult-to-reach remote areas thus providing technical stability to the distribution network.

In the end, adoption of EV will not just have to be enabled but also be driven. The government may

need to subsidize the expensive initial upfront cost of EVs. Although, the approach of zero upfront

payment and customers paying through savings from fuel costs that Mr. Piyush Goyal spoke of,

remains to be seen if it can really work.

Regardless, the rise of electric vehicles is inevitable

Joshi Devani

M.Tech. REEM 2017-19 (1st Semester) Department of Energy and Environment

In the process of evolution to the present modern world, the journey of the

mankind marked several milestones. From medieval period to the early days of

Industrial Revolution, many Inventions made human life easier replacing the hard human labor with

machines. With the Invention of Electricity, so far known to be the best form of energy “that can be

generated transported (transmitted), distributed and utilized efficiently”, lead way to evolution of so

called second industrial revolution. Later the development that took place in Semiconductor devices,

drastically transformed the technology that we are experiencing today with world brought down into

tiny electronic gadgets in hands.

“But to reap the benefits of the technology is still a dream to certain unreached sections of people in

the country. There might be several reasons to state, one of the prominent reason being lack of a

Reliable Electric Supply”.

Em’POWER’ the Rural India

REtopia 2017

The Energy sector is the prominent index in evaluating a country’s growth rate, every other field, and

its proliferation is interlinked with the energy sector. The development story of India with colossal

population and diversified geographic, climatic conditions has been sluggish due to many reasons,

one of the prominent reasons being late exposure to technological advancements that left some of

the deepest parts of the nation and villages in a state of darkness.

India primarily being a rural based Economy and Agriculture being its backbone, every government

that comes to power, Promises for the betterment of the life of the Rural INDIA. Several Rural

Electrification missions have been framed to reach every corner of the nation and to provide round

the clock power to rural households and adequate power to the agricultural consumer. Despite,

after several decades of independent India the problem hasn’t been addressed to the appreciable

level. Plausibly, less priority to rural areas has legitimate technical and economic reasons like high

cost of supply and maintenance, payment default, electricity theft, poor infrastructure etc. make the

electrification of far flung villages through the preferred mode of grid financially unviable.

As per latest data still 3926 (as per ‘cea.nic.in’ as on 31-5-2017) villages still left Un-electrified. Even

the people of so called electrified villages, do not actually get a reliable supply. Rural loads are the

first choice when they come across the issue of load shedding. Unless the country on a whole

achieve the position where the demand can be met by the supply the problem of reliability exist.

Actually when we empower the rural India we can find a greater productivity and growth in the

economy. Rural Electrification may not drive large scale industrial development, but it can provide

an impetus to home businesses, even though few households use electricity for productive

purposes. The number of enterprises grows as a result of electrification and that these enterprises

operate for more hours. There is, therefore, a positive impact on household income.

Major Rural Energy needs are for Agriculture, Cooking and Lighting, along with Health and

Educational Infrastructure being provided with utmost

priority. Agricultural Loads actually increases burden on the

grid, but as an alternative promoting the Solar Water

Pumping Systems can serve the purpose. Cooking in Rural

households mostly depends on fire wood, dung cake being

combusted in lowest efficient methods, also releases harmful

gases and particulate matter affecting their health severely.

Equipping them with Chulha’s that can do the job more

efficiently and safely can be the intermittent solution.

The energy sector in India is still a centralized monopoly market even though the decentralization

was introduced, due to lack of sufficient infrastructural development there is limited competitiveness

in this field, we can expect huge developments only when there is a higher magnitude of

competition, private participation and completely deregulated environment which will accelerate the

growth in energy sector. When the private contesting increases, naturally it demands collaborative

research, design and development that can find solutions for the existing challenges and making the

advanced technologies more economical, implementable and adaptable in the ground reality.

Integrating the Renewables to serve the Energy needs of remotely located rural habitats by the

means of Micro-grids should also be considered as promising option.

So let us em‘Power’ the “Rural INDIA” and make them stake holders of the slogan of our Hon’ble

Prime Minister “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” which means ‘Collective Effort Inclusive Growth’.

REtopia 2017

Maitreyi Karthik

MTech. REEM 2017-19 (1st semester)

Department of Energy and Environment

According to a report published by the McKinsey company, “many people see affordable storage as

the missing link between intermittent renewable power, such as solar and wind, and 24/7 reliability.

Major industrial companies consider storage a technology that could transform cars, turbines, and

consumer electronics”. This is only the tip of the iceberg. The potential application of affordable

energy storage is limitless. Imagine if you could harness the entire energy of incident solar radiation

and store it completely. It is a well known fact that the lithium-ion chemistry based battery systems,

widely used for powering mobile devices from cell phones to laptops, have one of the longest

lifespans of commercially produced batteries of today. Unfortunately, they also have been behind a

number of meltdowns and fires due to short-circuiting in mobile devices. Battery contains a

flammable liquid electrolyte. So a battery fire, while rare, can happen. This gave birth to many new

breakthroughs in the battery storage technology some of which are likely to hit the market in future.

What does the future hold?

First, energy storage makes economic sense for certain applications. This point is sometimes

overlooked given the emphasis on mandates, subsidies for some storage projects, and

noneconomic or tough-to-measure economic rationales for storage (such as resilience and

insurance against power outages).

Second, market participants need to access the detailed data that could allow them to identify and

prioritize those customers for whom storage is profitable. Given the complexity of energy storage,

deployment is more likely to follow a push versus a pull sales model, favoring entrepreneurial

companies that find creative ways to access and use these data.

Third, storage providers must be open-minded in their design of energy-storage systems, deciding

whether lithium-ion, lead-acid, flow-cell, or some other technology will provide the best value. A

strategy that employs multiple technologies may carry incremental costs, but it may also protect

against sudden price rises.

Fourth, healthy margins are likely to accrue to companies that make use of battery and load-profile

data. Unique characteristics of individual customers will favor tailored approaches, including the

development of algorithms that find and extract the greatest value. Strong customer relationships

are needed to access relevant data and to deliver most economical solution as regulations and

technologies evolve. Fifth, how to use storage to reduce system-wide costs will require some

thought. Examples might include price signals that are correlated with significant deviations in power

generation and consumption, rules that reward the provision of storage to serve multiple sites in

close proximity, and tariffs that favor self consumption (or load shifting) of renewable electricity.

The Next Revolution of Digital Age

Future Trends in Energy Storage

REtopia 2017

The most important implication is this: the large-scale deployment of energy storage could overturn

business as usual for many electricity markets.

What is our expectation from the new batteries?

Better density: This means the battery can store more charge in the same physical size.

Improved longevity: Lithium ion batteries can only be recharged so many times before they start

losing capacity. After about 3 years you’ll probably find your phone doesn't last as long as it used to.

Safety: With lithium ion batteries susceptible to bursting into flames (remember the Samsung Note

7?), researchers are looking at new materials that are safer. Work is being done on solid-state

batteries — they contain a solid electrolyte, instead of a flammable liquid.

Breakthroughs in battery storage technology:

Vanadium flow battery

The latest, greatest utility-scale battery storage technology to emerge on the commercial market is

the vanadium redox battery, also known as the vanadium flow battery. Flow batteries are fully

containerized, nonflammable, compact, reusable over semi-infinite cycles, discharge 100% of the

stored energy and do not degrade for more than 20 years. This type of battery can offer almost

unlimited energy capacity simply by using larger electrolyte storage tanks. It can be left completely

discharged for long periods with no ill effects, making maintenance simpler than other batteries.

Nanowire batteries

Nanowire batteries can withstand hundreds of thousands of charges without showing any signs of

degradation. That could mean future batteries last a lot longer which are ideal for electric cars.

Nanowires, which are thousands of times thinner than a human hair, have a high conductivity and

large surface area, making them ideal for future batteries.

Lithium-air (Li-air) battery

This type of battery can theoretically hold more than 40 times the charge as a lithium ion battery the

same weight. As the name implies, lithium-air batteries draw in oxygen from the air. This causes a

reaction in the lithium that discharges energy.

Solid state Lithium ion battery

Solid-state batteries are considered closest to the level of practical application required to equip

vehicles for volume production. Among new generation batteries, at this stage, solid-state batteries

are considered closest to the level of practical application required to equip vehicles for volume

production. These batteries are rather large and best suited to industrial and utility scale

applications. The V-flow battery outcompetes Li-ion, and any other, for utility-scale applications.

Graphene car batteries

Graphene batteries are the future. One company has developed a new battery, called Grabat, that

could offer electric cars a driving range of up to 500 miles on a charge. Graphenano, the company

behind the development, says the batteries can be charged to full in just a few minutes. It can

charge and discharge 33 times faster than lithium ion. The capacity of the 2.3V Grabat is huge with

around 1000 Wh/kg which compares to lithium ion's current 180 Wh/kg. The best part of all this is

that these batteries should be ready to go by mid way through 2016. On a concluding note, energy

storage is the holy grail of energy research of the future- and for good reasons.

REtopia 2017

Nigamananda Mishra

Part-Time PhD Scholar

Department of Energy and Environment

Most part of India gets around 300 days of sunshine in a year. About 5,000

trillion kWh per year energy is incident over Indian land area with most area receiving 4 - 7 kWh/m2/

day. Hence, both the technologies, solar thermal and solar photovoltaics can effectively provide

huge capability for solar in India. Solar also provides the ability to generate power on a distributed

basis. As per MNRE, estimated solar power potential in India is 748.98 GWp.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) is one of the eight missions of India’s

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) that elucidates the nation’s vision for solar

technology, installation of 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022, by no means is a small task, given that

India had a mere 2 MW of installed solar capacity in 2009. In 2010 National solar mission was

launched. The Government has set the ambitious target of generating 100 GW of solar power by the

year 2021-22, under the National Solar Mission. It is envisaged to generate 60 GW ground mounted

grid-connected solar power and 40 GW through roof-top grid interactive solar power to fulfil the 100

GW of solar power. The Ministry has also fixed year-wise targets to monitor the solar power

generation in the country. The Ministry is putting all efforts through various schemes of Central

Government and State Governments to achieve the targets.

The target set for the solar energy till 2021-22 are given below:

By 2022, India is targeting the installation of 175 GW of renewable energy capacity, an ambitious

target that will require a four-fold growth in the sector. The 2022 target includes 60 GW of large and

medium-scale grid connected solar power projects, 60 GW of wind, 40 GW of solar rooftop

projects, 10 GW of bio-power and 5 GW of small hydro.

If we compare the Target of 2021-22 with 2015-16, we can easily notice that target in 2021-22 is 13

times more than the target in 2015-16. In order to achieve the proposed 100 GW target by 2022,

the overall investment required would be around INR 6 lakh crore or at INR 6 crores/MW, as per

A Review of National Solar Mission

REtopia 2017

present costs. The grid needs expansion and strengthening besides institution of a whole set of

reforms relating to end consumer tariffs, ancillary services and building up energy storage capacity.

Developers need to be assured that all the power generated by them will be evacuated and paid for.

If we compare the Target of 2021-22 with 2015-16, we can easily notice that target in 2021-22 is 13

times more than the target in 2015-16. In order to achieve the proposed 100 GW target by 2022,

the overall investment required would be around Rs 6 lakh crore or at Rs 6 crores/MW, as per

present costs. The grid needs expansion and strengthening besides institution of a whole set of

reforms relating to end consumer tariffs, ancillary services and building up energy storage capacity.

Developers need to be assured that all the power generated by them will be evacuated and paid for.

Proper planning of grid integration of the renewable energy capacity would help in achieving the

ambitious targets.

Cumulative Solar Power Achieved till 2016-17

As per the latest report of MNRE as on 30.06.2017, India has installed cumulative solar power of

13114.82 MW. If we see the cumulative target set for 2016-17 is around 17000 MW and we are

short of around 4000 MW of solar power.

As per the data published in Renewable Global status report, India is placed in 4th position in 2016

in Annual investment/Net capacity addition/Production in Solar PV. All over the world, total 75 GW of

Solar PV was added in 2016 and cumulative power produced is 303 GW.

Source - Renewable Global status Report 2017

REtopia 2017

Although, in Global scenario India is marching forward to achieve the target set by National solar

mission, but still we have to work hard to reach the target. If we analyse the state wise target vs

achievement we can easily distinguish, few of the states are doing well and most of the States are

lagging behind to achieve the target. Top five states are Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujrat, Telangana

and Andhra Pradesh.

The rate at which the cost of solar energy has reduced in India over the past two years, has discour-

aged the solar energy developers. Starting from August 2015, when competitive bid prices hovered

around Rs 5/unit, prices have now come down to Rs 3/unit in 2017. The lowest tariff so far is Rs

2.44/unit. In the wake of falling solar energy cost, DISCOMs now want to revise the solar tariffs of

the old contracts.

Conclusion:

Overall, India is having a very good potential for setting up of solar projects and few states are doing

well but most of the states are far behind the target. Solar tariffs in India have fallen to a new record

low of Rs 2.44/unit in the just concluded bidding for Bhadla Phase-III Solar Park in Rajasthan. Solar

Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is developing the 500 MW solar park at Bhadla with Saurya Urja

Co. of Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corp. Ltd.

In the wake of falling solar energy cost, DISCOMs want to revise the solar tariffs of the old contracts.

But a number of experts were also cautions about whether solar power at such rock-bottom tariffs

would be viable.

Several areas like policy, technology, availability of skilled workforce, financial model, PPA, law and

training of personnel need to be examined. These areas are to be addressed thoroughly by the ex-

perts and recommendation may be given for improvements, so that the target of 100 GW of solar

energy can be achieved by 2022.

REtopia 2017

Abhinav Bhaskar

Research Associate

Centre of Excellence in Thermal Energy Storage

Department of Energy and Environment

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems allow the storage of heat or cold for later use. TES is useful

for applications where there is a mismatch between supply and demand of energy. TES systems

can be extremely useful for integration with renewable energy sources which are intermittent and

whose availability is further reduced by weather perturbation. One such example is the use of solar

thermal energy, which is available only during the day, and hence, its application requires efficient

TES so that the excess heat collected during sunshine hours can be stored for later use during the

night. Solar thermal power plant integrated with TES have an advantage over solar PV and wind

power plants as its supply is more predictable and continue during non-sunshine hours. TES

integration has caused considerable reduction in prices of solar thermal power. A recent contract

awarded to ACWA power in Dubai for 7.6 Cents/kWh is an indication of the same [1].

Another great application of TES is in waste heat reutilization. In thermal energy intensive industries,

waste heat availability and the utilization periods are different. A well-designed TES system can help

in utilizing this waste heat optimally. Electrical energy consumption varies significantly during the day

and night, especially in extremely cold and hot climate countries where the major part of the

variation is due to domestic space heating and air conditioning. Such variation leads to peak and off

-peak period, accordingly, power stations have to be designed for capacities sufficient to fulfill the

peak load. This requires further investment in energy generation capacity. TES integration into the

district cooling and heating grids can solve the problem of peak demands. This provides flexibility to

the grids and helps in the integration of renewables to the grid. Off-grid cold storages powered by

intermittent renewable energy sources can also benefit from TES. A few companies like Ecozen [2]

and Promethean [3] are already leveraging the benefits of TES in the cold chain. TESSOL [4] is a

company based in Mumbai, which uses TES integrated refrigerated trucks for the transport of

perishable items. CRISTOPIA [5] is a chiller manufacturer, which provides cold TES solution to

customers and helps them benefit from time of day tariff by shifting their cooling loads to non-peak

hours. TES materials like PCM can also be integrated into textiles for temperature control of human

body. PLUSS Advanced Technologies [6] is the largest manufacturer for PCM material in India. They

have developed some very interesting applications such baby vests for neo-natal care to ice-cream

carts with PCM lining.

At the Centre of Excellence in Thermal Energy Storage (CoE-TES) at TERI University, we are working

multiple such applications of TES. Products and applications which will cater to the refrigeration and

air conditioning sector, industrial process heat and waste heat recovery applications, solar thermal

power generation, food processing etc. are being researched upon. The project is funded by the

Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

Thermal Energy Storage and its Applications

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A solar air dryer, integrated with thermal energy storage, is being developed at the centre for drying

of agricultural products in the range of 60˚C to 65˚C. Commercially available paraffin wax, with a

melting point of 62˚C is being used as the phase change material for storage of heat. An

experimental set up for high temperature thermal energy storage, (150˚C -220˚C) has been

developed by the centre. A shell and tube heat exchanger with heat transfer fluid flowing inside the

tubes and nitrates salts on the shell side is being investigated. Performance optimization of the heat

exchanger with respect to energy density, charging and discharging time of the PCM is the objective

of this study.

In addition to the experimental research, we are also involved in developing techno-economic and

financial models of applications of TES for different stakeholders such as industries, financers and

policymakers. We are also providing training on the technology through multiple lectures, trainings

sessions and workshops. Our objective is to develop cost efficient functional TES systems and to

disseminate knowledge about these various technologies which are available in the market or are

being researched upon. More details about the centre and how one can get associated with us can

be found on www.teriuniversity.ac.in/coetes.

References

1. www.solarpaces.org/acwa-power-shanghai-power-win-dubai-solar-auction-7-3-cents-csp/

2. www.ecozensolutions.com/

3. coolectrica.com/

4. www.tessol.in/

5. cristopia.co.in/

6. www.pluss.co.in/

Rittick Maity

MTech. REEM 2017-19 (1st semester)

Department of Energy and Environment

Over the years, with growing population, the urban settlement has

considerably increased than rural settlement. Urbanization has led to

delocalization of people from rural areas, which has led to occupancy of lands by Industries,

Skyscrapers, hotels, shopping malls etc. Advancement in lifestyle and technology has led to intake

of huge energy. Amid growing concerns about rising energy prices, GHG emissions and the impact

of climate change, it shows buildings are the large consumers of energy. Green Architects,

Ecologists and Environmentalist have come up with the concept of Net Zero Energy Buildings.

What are Net Zero Energy Buildings?

Net Zero Energy Buildings are those energy efficient Buildings in which actual energy delivered is

less than or equal to renewable energy exported to the grids. Zero Energy Buildings concept is

A Sustainable Concept of Urban India

Net Zero Energy Buildings

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100% use of natural resources and Zero Energy Consumption. Traditional Buildings are major

contributor to GHGs and consumption of Fossil fuel. Net Zero Buildings are way to reduce carbon

footprints and bring about climate change.

Designing Of NZE Buildings

Net Zero Energy Buildings uses less Energy consumption loads. The heating and cooling loads are

replaced by energy efficient loads, Optimize design for passive strategies, Optimize design for active

systems to recover Energy, generate energy on–site.

These are some basic principles which are kept while designing a NZE Buildings.

Features of Zero Energy Buildings:

• Zero Energy Buildings use glue laminated timber which has low carbon content as the main

structural element in place of concrete and steel. This reduces the overall weight of house and is

less vulnerable to natural disasters.

• Green roofs are utilized to act as insulation as well as cooling system.

• Thermal mass is used for passive heating and cooling.

• Installing solar panels on rooftop which is to be connected to Grids, which makes grid

interdependent on other sources of energy.

• Optimizing passive solar orientation and use external shading to prevent unnecessary solar gains

during summer.

• Using low e-glazing window panes would increase energy efficiency and saves our money.

• Using blended concrete structural steel, ceiling and floor tiles, carpeting, carpet padding.

• Provide a clean and healthy building. Use biodegradable and environmentally friendly cleaning

agents that do not release VOCs or other harmful agents and residue.

• Conserve water and preserve site and ground water quality by using only indigenous, drought

resistant and hardy trees, shrubs, plants and turf that require no irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides

or herbicides.

• Use Energy Star certified (ISI) marked energy efficient appliances, office equipment, lighting and

HVAC systems.

Developments and initiatives adopted by Indian Govt:

The Ministry of power with the help of United States Agency For International Development (USAID)

has launched a web portal discussing about NZEBs: Buildings goals, sustainable architecture,

design technology, Energy performance etc. The portal (www.nzeb.in) was launched by Shri

Pradeep Kumar Pujari, Secretary, Ministry of Power, and Ambassador Mr. Jonathan Addleton,

USAID Mission Director to India. This portal was jointly built by Bureau of Energy Efficiency and

USAID. This portal can be accessed by the engineers, policy makers, students, environmentalist to

know and promote NZEBs.

India’s first Net Zero Energy Building has been established with the help of Passive solar design and

energy efficient construction materials. The Indira Paryavaran Bhavan is the first Net zero energy

buildings. It is one of the NZEBs which have been given Rating 5 under GRIHA Scheme.

India long term goal to make all the buildings NZEBs has started with a vision to launch 4-5 pilot

REtopia 2017

projects per year. Long term goals have been established to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels

and enhance the use of renewable energy, with launch of USAID-ECO III which is to promote NZEBs

in India. At first, the Govt. Of India identifies the financial incentives for employing the renewable and

energy efficient technologies from NZEBs viewpoint. 4-5 projects are undertaken and design of

project starts. After 2-3 years the projects become operational.

Along with USAID ECO III there are many national and international organizations which are part of

these projects. The research and development of these projects are done in this Centre.

The various partners of this organization are CEPT University, Vastu Shilpa Consultants, Schneider

electric India, US department of Energy, Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for building

performance and Diagnostics.

Advantages of Net Zero Energy Buildings:

• More energy efficiency allows more saving.

• Reduction in grid blackouts.

• Reduced total net monthly cost of living

• GHG emissions would reduce

• The cost of NZEBs would increase with increase in energy costs.

Disadvantages of Net Zero Energy Buildings:

• The initial investment is very high.

• There are very few architects, sustainable designers who have necessary skills to build NZEBs.

• The energy produced would be less during bad weather as solar panels don’t work in rainy days.

• Energy Efficient construction materials are not readily available.

Net Zero energy buildings (NZEBs) vs. Green Energy Buildings (GEBs):

In Zero energy buildings the energy is very significantly reduced as compared to green energy

buildings. GEBs are based on reduction of waste, efficient use of water and energy resource,

occupant health and improving health. etc.

The Concept of Zero Energy Buildings is new among the different communities of India. Renewable

Energy market is still blooming stressing more on Solar and Wind Technology. Smart Grid Mission

launched by Ministry of Urban Development of India has initiated the concept of Green Buildings

among people to large extent. Indian Government should provide subsidies to individuals and

Organization to create Zero Energy Buildings. But the goal of Zero Energy Buildings would not be

fulfilled till the people don’t understand the responsibility and contribute towards energy

consumption.

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Shanko Ghosh

MTech. REEM 2016-18 (3rd semester)

Department of Energy and Environment

Mr. Piyush Goyal, our ex-power minister and Mr Narendra Modi, our Prime Minister are known to be

ambitious and optimistic leaders with a strong and enthusiastic support from planning commission

and industries. We have seen a lot of strategies come to life in this government’s tenure and a bright

future can be expected for India with complete energy access and security. A lot of renewable ener-

gy and energy efficiency programs have sprung up in the past couple of years like, 175 GW of re-

newables, UJALA, UDAY, etc. 258.5 million LED bulbs have been distributed under UJALA scheme

(as of 28 August 2017). The potential decrease in energy from these LEDs is estimated to be 33,581

million units and resulted in reduction of peak demand by 6,723 MW.

With its target of 175 GW of renewables, through e-procurement, wind

tariff has fallen to Rs 3.46/kWh and solar tariff has reduced to Rs 2.44/

kWh (as of 30.06.2017) with transparent bidding and procurement. In

the last year alone the share of installed renewable energy power has

increased to 58.3 GW out of a total of 330.15 GW.

One of the government goals which piqued my interest is 100% Electric

mobility by 2032. I was one of the early adopters of e-mobility and I loved the ride. It was a two

wheeler and the ride was smooth and quiet. The technology was not mature at that time in India

and, with no charging infrastructure the range was limited. I grew up in a small town and my daily

ride was not more than 20 km, so I did not mind.

Indian Electric Vehicle Mission

REtopia 2017

For example, Europe has a completely different charging standard than US or UK. Planning of

charging stations is also a live field of research and investments. Electric vehicle is clearly the future

as it has many-fold advantages when it comes to energy security of a nation as it reduces depend-

ence on fossil fuels and thus oil imports. These are zero local emission vehicles, so they are also en-

vironment-friendly as long as the charging source is clean. Electric vehicles are also energy efficient

as motors convert 90% of electrical energy for moving the vehicles, whereas best of internal com-

bustion engines are only up to 25% efficient in energy conversion.

Even though technology has matured for charging and a lot of cities have public charging infrastruc-

ture now, India has just come up with a charging standard for public and home charging. There are

different charging standards around the globe with some EV manufacturers preferring one standard

over the other. For example, Tesla has its own charging standard and Japanese models have their

own standard ChadeMo. Though, there are adapters to charge a Tesla with a ChadeMo charger, it

causes an inconvenience to user and also manufacturer when there are different standards in

different countries.

Moreover, private cars are often kept in parking

lots and are stationary for most of the time.

Thus, there is a possibility to use them as stor-

age for the excess energy generated during

peak solar or wind periods and discharged

(through Vehicle to Grid) to grid for managing

peak loads and supplying during night or a calm

non-windy day.

Considering the above advantages over ICE

(Internal combustion engine) vehicles, electric

vehicles can be popularized by installation of

charging equipment and incentivizing early

adopters with free charging for a few years. The

owners of shopping malls, large scale retailers or restaurants can install charging stations in their

parking lots, as it will increase the sale in their outlets while the car is charging. Cities can penalize

ICE vehicles for entry into cities, which will encourage people to switch to electric vehicles in cities.

The air quality in cities will improve especially in busy road crossings and markets.

Electric buses, however, offer a much more sustainable mode of transport for cities whose roads

are getting overcrowded with private cars. The space and energy consumption reduces significantly

when everyone uses public transport instead of private vehicles. The charging infrastructure planning

is also much simpler as they have fixed routes and there are no dynamic variables except traffic con-

ditions.

The consortium to build electric cars by Tata, Mahindra and Ashok Leyland was changed to make

electric buses and a lot of transport companies are now trying out electric bus operations and re-

cently a tender was floated to procure 10,000 electric cars for government fleets.

REtopia 2017

Soumyadeep Marik

MTech. REEM 2017-19 (1st semester)

Department of Energy and Environment

For the first time in human history, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were measured at 410 parts

per million (ppm) atmospheric concentrations. To avoid a runaway climate change countries under

the Paris Climate Agreement have adopted a 2 degree temperature rise limit by the end of this cen-

tury as beyond this scientists fear a tipping point in climate change and this change would become

irreversible. According to estimates oil reserves would still last for 53 years, gas for 54 years and

coal for another 110 years. The question being can we afford to burn off fossil fuels? If we are trying

to avoid catastrophic changes then NO. In order to avoid such a situation there is an urgent need to

shift to cleaner technologies. Transition to renewable energy sources is thus necessary. But what

are the factors effecting this transition? This article explores a few.

Oil Prices

The price of oil has been a factor effecting renewable energy from its infancy stages. The oil shock in

1970s helped arise interest in alternative sources of energy in countries like USA and Germany.

From 1974 through the mid-1980s, the U.S. government worked with industry to advance the tech-

nology and enable development and deployment of large commercial wind turbines. Through 1970s

Research by NASA and Germany in Europe pushed the RandD of solar energy technologies. Thus

oil shocks played an important role in development of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

Today low price of oil might feel like a cause of concern for the mass deployment of renewable ener-

gy. As lower prices would mean lesser incentives for countries shifting away from fossil fuels. But

reality is far more complex. Many countries including India are heavily dependent on the import of oil

as one of its primary energy sources. Also almost every country provides heavy subsidies thus mak-

ing energy markets heavily biased towards the consumption of fossil fuels. These subsidies are a

necessary economic burden for the governments as higher energy prices would make everything in

domestic market expensive. With fall of oil prices countries are now inclined to remove these subsi-

dies thus leveling the playground for renewables.

Fall in Prices of Renewables

Recent years have seen decline in prices of renewable energy worldwide. The steep decline in the

prices of solar panels can be attributed to Germany’s years of research and China’s employment of

economies of scale. As it did to steel, aluminum and coal China is oversupplying the market with so-

lar panels thus bringing down the prices. This benefits China as it is hard for the indigenous markets

to compete with cheap Chinese solar panels. Also lower oil prices reduce transportation costs. This

fall in prices has led to a tremendous rise in demand of solar panels as can be seen from the rise in

Transition to Renewable Energy

REtopia 2017

installed capacity worldwide.

In India, solar power tariff dropped to ₹. 2.62/ unit in an auction conducted for Bhadla Solar Park in

May, 2017. In February, 2017 wind power prices crashed to ₹. 3.46/unit in the country’s first ever

auction of wind capacity. The fall in wind tariffs mirrors a similar trend in solar tariffs.

Policy

Maybe the most critical factor is policy. With 160 countries out of 196 ratifying the Paris Agreement

a significant shift in policy favoring low carbon technologies is expected. One important aspect to be

noted here is trillions of dollars worth of legacy energy infrastructure exist and countries shy away

from decommissioning them without solid economic basis to do so. One way of dealing with this

situation is including the cost of externalities i.e. the price of each energy source should reflect its full

social costs. The externality costs associated with renewable energy are much lower when com-

pared to fossil fuels. Thus implementing this not only makes renewables the most affordable energy

sources but also shifting from preexisting energy infrastructure makes more economic sense.

An example of policy changing market behavior can be found in Norway where government incen-

tives have dramatically boosted the sales of electric vehicles (EVs). EV owners in Norway are exempt

from purchase taxes, including a 25% value-added tax. In 2015 EVs comprised about 25% of all

new vehicle registrations in Norway, far exceeding EV sales rates in other countries.

Another example of policy effecting transition towards renewable energy can be seen in Portugal. In

2005 Portugal initiated an ambitious program to increase its reliance on renewable energy. Today

the share of Portugal’s electricity coming from renewable energy has increased from 17 percent in

2005 to 63 percent in 2014. As it relied heavily on costly imports of fossil fuels for its electricity, Por-

tugal’s shift toward renewable required no tax or debt increases.

Technological Advancement

Renewable sources of energy are primarily used for electricity generation. This kept oil away from

direct competition from renewable energy sources as oil is used predominantly in transportation

sector. With technological advancement in automobile industry such as rise of electric vehicles and

also improved and cheaper battery storage things are set to change. With the ratification of Paris

Climate Agreement countries are looking at ways to reduce GHG emissions. Given the falling prices

of renewable energy sources which are now competitive and even cheaper than the conventional

sources of energy in parts of the world, it is highly likely that countries would choose clean sources

of energy to meet this increased demand from electric vehicles. This provides a way for renewable

energy to directly replace consumption of oil.

It is clear that although there is a pressing need for a shift towards renewable energy due to the im-

pact that fossil fuels have on climate, the transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable

energy is being fueled by an amalgam of different factors. In the heart of it is the economic viability of

such projects. Therefore, it is the responsibility of governments worldwide to create policies which

support renewable energy and make renewable energy projects economically attractive.

REtopia 2017

Vana Mohan Swaroop

MTech. REEM 2017-19 (1st semester)

Department of Energy and Environment

What are electric cars?

An electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using electrical en-

ergy stored in rechargeable batteries. It consists of electric motor, controller and battery pack. The

electric motor is the working unit which converts the electricity to motion. And the controller is the

brain of the whole system which controls the power supply of all auxiliaries and motors. Battery

pack is the group of cells that gives power to the electric car.

History

The first practical electric cars were produced in the 1880s. Thomas parker built the first practical

production electric car in London in 1884, using his own specially designed high-capacity recharge-

able batteries. Electric cars were among the preferred methods for automobile propulsion in the late

19th century and early 20th century. California electric automaker Tesla motors began development

in 2004 on the Tesla roadster, which was first delivered to customers in 2008. The Roadster was the

first highway legal serial production all-electric car to use lithium ion cells, and the first production all-

electric car to travel more than 320 km per charge.

Comparison

Electric cars use electric motors and motor controller instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs)

for propulsion. Most of the Regular cars in India run on petrol or diesel. These are fossil fuel that

pumps carbon dioxide straight out of the tail pipe and into the atmosphere. Electric cars run on

electricity. They don’t burn any fossil fuels at all. No fossil fuels; no carbon dioxide; in fact the electric

cars are often advertised as creating zero emissions.

Are electric cars really green?

At present, there are many environmental problems associates with the production and running of

electric cars. First, there is the energy needed for the production of the car. Mostly the electricity for

the industries is coming from the conventional energy sources. But more than one-third of the life

time carbon dioxide emissions from an electric car come from the energy used to make a car itself.

Especially the battery, it is made up of lithium. The mining of lithium it is not a green activity and it

can lead to harmful environmental effects because of its highly reactive nature it contaminates the

water resources easily and breathing lithium dust causes respiratory problems. When the electric car

rolls off the production line, it is already been responsible for 11340 kilograms of carbon dioxide

emissions. But the amount for production of a conventional car is just 7257 kilograms.

Do Electric Cars really help the Environment?

REtopia 2017

But that is not the end of the carbon dioxide emissions because while it is true that electric cars do

not run on petrol and diesel, they run on electricity which in the India is often produced by another

fossil fuel called coal. In India, 60% of our electricity comes from thermal power plants. So usage of

electricity from production to the running of an electric car is coming from coal only. The energy out-

put at load never is equal to the energy input from thermal power plant because of the mechanical

and heat losses at different stages. So we need generate more electricity to meet the energy de-

mand creating by the electric cars is achieved by combusting of more coal. It results more air pollu-

tion than the conventional cars. And adds cost at every stage from mining, processing, transporta-

tion, power generation and transmission.

Throughout the full life of an electric car, it will emit just three to five tons less carbon dioxide than

conventional cars. Unless we will moved to renewable energy the electric cars called as coal pow-

ered cars.

How to make electric cars greener?

The electricity from the renewables like solar and wind creates energy for electric cars without car-

bon dioxide emissions. In future there is a scope for development of electric cars will increase in In-

dia due to its renewable energy plan. Electric cars will see the resurgence due to technological de-

velopments and an increased focus on renewable energy. At present, India is targeting to reach 175

GW of renewable energy by 2022. And planning to reach nearly 60% of electricity from non-fossil

fuels by 2027 and the Paris climate accord target was 40% by 2030. Many researches have been

going on battery technologies like using super capacitor batteries instead of lithium ion batteries. Us-

ing of Super capacitors as a battery is an upcoming technology because it effectively stores the en-

ergy and also having the more advantages than a battery like quick charging, long cycle life time.

This provides a huge market opportunity for the electric cars makers.

But, in present days the using of electric cars under the conventional energy sources cuts almost no

carbon dioxide in atmosphere and generates more air pollution than conventional ones.

STUDENT PROFILES (MTECH. REEM 2016-18)

3RD SEMESTER

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Abhishek Bhardwaj

Degree: B.E. (Computer Science and Engineering)

Internship: Identification of Best Available Technologies for various BEE schemes at Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)

Areas of interest: Energy Efficiency and Auditing, Green Building, Wind Power

Aditya Mahajan

Degree: B.Tech (Mechanical & Automation)

Internship: Enrichment of producer gas in air/steam gasification at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

Areas of interest: Biomass densification, combustion & gasification, waste-to-energy

Aman Aggarwal

Degree: B.Tech (Mechanical & Automation)

Internship: Simulation of Hybrid Renewable Energy systems for cost optimization at TERI University

Areas of interest: Waste Utilisation and Management, Energy Efficiency, Hybrid systems, Energy Policy

Anirudh Narla

Degree: B.Tech Mechanical Engineering

Internship: Retrofitting Rural Street Lights with LEDs at New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) Ltd.

Areas of interest: Energy Efficiency, Solar PV and Thermal, Wind Power, Waste Management and Utilisation

REtopia 2017

Anirudh

Sharma

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical & Electronics)

Internship: Study of Solar Cell Fabrication and Solar PV

Applications at BHEL ASSCP, Gurgaon

Areas of interest: Solar PV Applications, Grid

Integration of Renewable Energy Sources

Anjali

Dipakbhai

Lathigara

Degree: B.Tech (Environmental Science)

Internship: Industrial Energy Auditing and Conservation

at Petroleum Conservation and Research Association

(PCRA) [Northern Region]

Areas of interest: Energy Efficiency and Auditing, Solar

thermal and its application, Smart Grid and grid

integration of renewable energy

Anuj Sharma

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical)

Internship: Energy Audit of commercial buildings at

Areas of interest: Grid Integration, Smart Grid, Energy

Efficiency

Arun Kumar

Degree: B.Tech (Mechanical)

Internship: Study Of Solar Cell Fabrication and Solar PV

Applications at BHEL ASSCP, Gurgaon

Areas of interest: Green Building, Energy Auditing,

Energy Policy, Solar Thermal, Solar PV

REtopia 2017

Arundhati

Yadava

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical)

Internship: Energy Study in the Eco-Sensitive Zone of

Manas National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site ,

at UNESCO, New Delhi

Areas of interest: Renewable energy technologies for

rural areas, Waste-to-energy, Bio-energy, Green

building, Climate Change

Aviral Yadav

Degree: B.Tech (Mechanical)

Internship: Design and prototype development of low

cost solar powered refrigerator at SRISTI - UNICEF -

National Innovation Foundation

Areas of interest: Solar Heat in Industrial Process,

Thermal Storage, Green Building, Electric Vehicle

Chandana Sasidharan

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical and Electronics)

Internship: Simulation of novel solar cell structure for

efficiency enhancement at TERI University

Areas of interest: Energy efficiency, Energy Storage,

Solar PV, Hybrid Systems

Chris Alice Abraham

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical and Electronics)

Internship: Techno commercial feasibility study of PV

project at Micromax Energy

Areas of interest: Solar PV, Smart Grid, Energy Policy,

Hybrid Systems

REtopia 2017

Gaurav Balani

Degree: B.Tech (Power System)

Internship: Development of ‘Solar off grid technician’

training programme at Skill Council for green jobs

Areas of interest: Renewable energy technologies for

rural areas, Waste-to-energy, Bio-energy, Green

building, Climate Change

Harsimran

Kaur

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical and Electronics )

Internship: Techno-commercial Solar RTPV design and

development at Micromax Energy

Areas of interest: Solar PV, Smart Grid, Energy

Management, Energy Policy

Hunpu Tangha

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical and Electronics)

Internship: Power flow analysis of Rajasthan Using

PSAT Simulator (MATLAB) at Department of Energy

and Environment, TERI University

Areas of interest: Smart Grid, Rural Electrification,

Energy policy, Distributed power Generation schemes.

Jnana Bhaskar Rao

Degree: B.Tech (Mechanical)

Internship: Design of Phase Change Material (PCM)

based thermal energy storage system for Cold Storage

of 10 M ton of potatoes at Centre of Excellence in

Thermal Energy Storage, TERI University

Areas of interest: Thermal Energy Storage, Solar

thermal, Energy efficiency, Waste Management,

Hydrogen fuel cells

REtopia 2017

Kamna

Waghray

Mahendra

Degree: B.Tech, MSc (Biotechnology)

Internship: Power Transmission system of Rajasthan: A

scenario analysis at TERI University

Areas of interest: Energy policy, Energy modelling,

Waste management, Biofuels, and Decentralized

energy systems

Km. Khyati

Singh

Degree: B.Tech (Electronics and Communication)

Internship: Low cost refrigeration system using

thermoelectric principle at SRISTI, UNICEF

Areas of interest: Green Buildings, Waste utilization,

Battery Storage system, Electric Vehicles

Meghna Shalini Moitra

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical and Electronics)

Internship: Techno commercial feasibility study of Solar

Rooftop PV project at Micromax Energy

Areas of interest: Energy efficiency and management,

Waste utilisation and management, Energy policy,

Green buildings, Solar PV

Mekha Susan Philip

Degree: B.Tech (Mechanical)

Internship: Energy Auditing on ‘Report analysis of HAL

CSR Activities carried out by TERI-SRC’ at TERI-SRC,

Bengaluru

Areas of interest: Waste Utilisation & Management,

Solar PV, Thermal Storage, Energy Auditing

REtopia 2017

Mohit

Sharma

Degree: B.Tech (Electronics and Communication)

Internship: Study Of Solar Cell Fabrication and Solar PV

Applications at BHEL-ASSCP

Areas of interest: Solar PV, Wind Power, Green

Building, Waste to Energy, Energy Efficiency and

Management, Grid integration of Renewables

Nameirakpam

Rajesh Singh

Degree: B.E (Mechanical )

Internship: Air-Steam Gasification at TERI Gram,

Gwalpahari

Areas of interest: Gasification, Waste Utilisation, Solar

Thermal, Energy Storage

Pallas Chandel

Degree: B.Tech (Solar and Alternative Energy)

Internship: Design and Installation of residential rooftop

Solar PV system at Centre for Science and

Environment and Spektron Solar Private Ltd.

Areas of interest: Solar PV, Renewable Energy Hybrid

Power Systems, Energy policy, Fuel cells

Parul Kanojia

Degree: B.Tech (Electronics and Communication)

Internship: Technical Feasibility and Performance

Analysis of Solar Roof-Top Photovoltaic System at

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)

Areas of interest: Microgrid, Solar PV, Wind Energy

REtopia 2017

Puneet

Sharma

Degree: B.Tech (Civil)

Internship: Energy Mapping of SME Clusters in India at

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), India

Areas of interest: Energy Efficiency, Energy Policy,

Small Hydro, Solar Resource Assessment, Wind

Resource Assessment, Green Buildings

Ramnath B.

Satpute

Degree: B.E (Mechanical )

Internship: Energy Audit of Commercial Building at

TERI, Centre for Research on Sustainable Building

Science (CRSBS), New Delhi

Areas of interest: Green Building, Thermal Energy

Storage, Energy Efficiency and Auditing

Ringsmaidi Nunisa

Degree: B.Tech (Solar and Alternative Energy)

Internship: Energy Auditing of Govt. Buildings at TERI-

SRC, Bengaluru

Areas of interest: Waste Management and Utilization,

Climate Change, Energy Policy, Solar PV

Sahana L

Degree: PG Diploma in Transmission and Distribution

Systems (NPTI), B.E. (Electrical and Electronics)

Internship: Design and Development of Solar Power

Plant at National Training Centre for Solar Technology,

KPCL, Bengaluru

Areas of interest: Solar PV, Wind Power, Grid

Integration of Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency

REtopia 2017

Sarath Kanth

Chaganti

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical)

Internship: Design and analysis of solar PV system, at

RED Solar

Areas of interest: Energy efficiency and Management,

Energy Storage (Electrical and Electrochemical)

Shankho

Ghosh

Degree: B.E. (Electrical and Electronics)

Internship: Optimization of charging infrastructure

location and battery sizing for Public Transport buses

of New Delhi city at Technology Information

Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC),

Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India

Areas of interest: Grid Integration of Electric Vehicles,

Solar PV, Charging infrastructure planning for EV, Big

Data Analytics

Shivali Dwivedi

Degree: B. Tech (Electrical and Electronics)

Internship: Development and Analysis of Demand

Response across Globe and estimating its potential in

Delhi at TATA Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL)

Areas of interest: Smart Grid, Grid Integration of

Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency

Sonalee Mehta

Degree: B.Tech (Biotechnology)

Internship: Examination of financial mechanisms/

instruments for supporting energy efficient projects at

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)

Areas of interest: Energy Efficiency, Energy Economics,

Energy Policy, Green Buildings

REtopia 2017

Soudipan

Maity

Degree: B.Tech (Electrical)

Internship: Modelling of the Western regional grid and

operational power flow studies under peak-load

conditions to study the impact of large-scale RE

integration into the grid at Department of Energy

Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay

Areas of interest: Grid Integration of Renewables, Wind

Power, Smart Grids and Microgrids, Power System

Dynamics and Control, Energy Analytics

Sourabh

Guhaneogi

Degree: B.Tech (Power Engineering)

Internship: Performance monitoring of thermal power

plant at ACB India Limited

Areas of interest: Energy efficiency and auditing, Waste

-to-energy, Bio-energy, Hybrid renewable energy

systems, Energy management

Ukidve Gandhar G.

Degree: B.E. (Electrical)

Internship: Review of Battery Technologies for energy

storage at low voltage levels at Prayas Energy Group,

Pune

Areas of interest: Energy Efficiency, Energy Policy,

Solar PV

REtopia 2017

STUDENT PROFILES (MTECH. REEM 2017-19)

1ST SEMESTER

REtopia 2017

Abhinav

Agarwal

Background: B.E. (Electrical)

Area of Interest : Solar PV, Energy Efficiency, Energy

Auditing

Abhinav Viz

Background : B.E. (Electrical)

Area of Interest : Organic Farming, Solar Energy, Wind

Energy

Aditi Arya Degree: B. Tech (Electrical)

Areas of interest: Solar Energy, Biomass, Wind Energy

Akshat Singh Background: B.Tech. (Petroleum Engineering)

Area of Interest: Biomass, Biofuel, Energy Efficiency

Akshita Arora

Background : B.Tech Chemical Engineering

Area of Interest : Biomass, Waste Management and

Solar Energy

REtopia 2017

Arushi Parihar

Background : B.Tech. (Electronics and communication)

Area of Interest : Energy policy, Energy auditing, Solar

PV

Bikash Sahu

Background : Integrated B.Tech & M.Tech (Thermal

and Mechanical)

Area of Interest: Wind Energy, Thermal Energy Storage,

Energy Audit

Devani Joshi Veera Prabhu

Background : B.Tech. (Electrical and Electronics)

Area of Interest : Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage &

Efficiency, Smart Grid Technology

Divyanshu Sood

Background: B.E. (Mechanical)

Area of Interest: Solar PV, Wind Energy, Waste to

Energy

Drimson Fernandes

Background : B.E. (Mechanical)

Area of Interest : Solar PV , Wind Energy, Organic

Farming

REtopia 2017

Dusi Priyatam

Yasaswi

Background : B.Tech. (Mechanical)

Area of Interest : Climate change Mitigation, Organic

farming, Green Buildings

Ganesh Pillai Background : B.E. (Chemical)

Area of Interest : Solar Thermal, Wind Energy, Energy

Efficiency

Gautam

Gupta

Background: B.Tech (Electrical and Electronics)

Area of Interest : Biomass, green buildings, solar

thermal

Gautham

Molleti

Background: B.E. (Mechanical)

Area of Interest : Solar PV, Wind Energy, Energy

efficiency

Hashir Khan Background : B.E. (Mechanical)

Area of Interest : Wind Energy, Energy efficiency,

energy auditing

REtopia 2017

Himangka

Kaushik

Background : B.Tech. Petroleum Engineering

Area of Interest : Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Energy

Efficiency.

Karan

Bhandari

Background : B.E. Environmental Engineering

Area of Interest : Biomass, Solar, Wind

Karthikeyan

N

Background : B.E. Electronics and Communication

Engineering

Area of Interest : Solar Energy, Energy Efficiency,

Sustainable Development.

Maitreyi Karthik

Background : B.Tech. (Electrical and Electronics) Area of Interest : Solar, smart grids, biomass

Mohammed Subhan Khan

Background : B.E. (Electronics and Communications) Area of Interest : Solar PV, Power Management, Energy Audit

REtopia 2017

Pushpa Choudhary

Background : B.E. (Electrical) Area of Interest : Solar, biomass energy, wind energy

Raj Priya Background : B.Tech. (Chemical) Area of Interest : Solar energy, biomass, wind energy

Richa Singh Background : B.Tech. (Electrical) Area of Interest : Solar Energy, Wind Energy and Energy Auditing

Rishabh Sethi

Background : B.Tech. (Material Science with Specialization in Nanotechnology) Area of Interest : Sustainable Development, Energy Storage, Energy Audit

Rittick Maity Background : B.Tech. Electrical Engineering Area of Interest : Solar photovoltaics, Energy storage, Wind Energy

REtopia 2017

S M Gulfam

Raza Naqvi

Background : B.Tech. (Mechanical & Automation)

Area of Interest : Wind Energy, Solar PV & Solar

Thermal, Biomass

Saksham Goel

Background : B.Tech. (Material Science with

specialization in Nano Technology)

Area of Interest : Solar Thermal, smart materials for

energy production and transmission, biomass

Samroot

Samreen Wani

Background : B.Tech. (Civil)

Area of Interest : Biomass, Solid waste management,

Sustainable development

Shinjini Singh

Background : B.E. (Electrical)

Area of Interest : Solar Energy, Wind Energy and

Biomass

Shirish

Bhardwaj

Background : B.Tech. (Mechanical)

Area of Interest : Solar Thermal , Energy Efficiency

REtopia 2017

Shivam

Chauhan

Background : B.Tech. (Electrical & Electronics)

Area of Interest : Biomass, Solar PV, Wind Power

Shravani

Itkelwar

Background: B.Tech. (Mechanical)

Area of Interest: Solar thermal , Energy efficiency ,

clean technology

Shubham

Thakare

Background: B.E. (Mechanical)

Area of Interest: Solar Thermal, Energy Storage

Siddhant

Shankar

Background: B.E. (Civil)

Area of Interest: Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings,

Energy Management

Soumik Datta Background: B.E. (Mechanical)

Area of Interest: Energy & geopolitics, Energy policy,

Sustainable development

REtopia 2017

Soumyadeep Marik

Background : B.E. (Electronics and Communications) Area of Interest : Climate Change, Energy Policy

Srishti Mahajan

Background : B.Tech. (Environmental) Area of Interest : Environmental Law & Policies, EIA, Energy Economics

Sweta Malik Background : B.Tech. (Electrical) Area of Interest : Biomass, Energy Audit, Sustainable Development

Trishita Bhattacharjee

Background : B.E. (Electronics and Communications) Area of Interest : Energy and geopolitics efficiency, Solar PV, Wind energy

Vana Mohan Swarup

Background : B.Tech. (Electrical and Electronics) Area of Interest : Solar thermal, Wind, Biomass

REtopia 2017

Vasudev KP Background : B.Tech. (Electrical and Electronics) Area of Interest : Data analytics, geothermal, solar PV conversion

Yashvi Malhotra

Background : Integrated B.E. (ECE) and MBA (Marketing and Finance) Area of Interest : Solid Waste Management, Wind Energy, Big Data Analytics

REtopia 2017

About REtopia 2017

REtopia 2017 is derived from the English word ‘Utopia’ referring to an ideal situation or state. The

word REtopia extends this concept to realm of energy. The word REtopia aims to refer to a world

which empowers itself from clean energy sources & lives up to the idea of sustainable development.

REtopia is one of the prestigious technical symposium started by students from Department of

Energy and Environment at TERI University in the year 2011. The motive behind this conclave is to

bring towards students and people from academics, industry and government to emphasize the

need of clean technology on techno-commercial and environmental aspects.

In the past, REtopia has been attended by several dignitaries like Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister

of State with independent Charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, Dr. Ashvini Kumar

(Director, SECI), Dr. P.C. Maithani (Director, MNRE), Mr. Chintan Shah (President, Suzlon Energy),

Mr. Sunil Jain (CEO & Executive Director, Hero Future Energies), Mr. Mukul Sinha (Head- Projects

Delivery, Tata Power Solar), Prof. L. M. Das (IIT Delhi), Mr. Sushanta K. Chatterjee (Jt. Chief,

Regulatory Affairs, CERC), Dr. Srikanta K. Panigrahi (Director General, Carbon Minus India), Mr

Sumant Sinha (CEO ReNew Power) and many more.

It has kept growing bigger with each passing year and we take pride in continuing the legacy by

presenting to you REtopia 2017.

TERI University, Plot No. 10, Institutional Area, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070