US-headquartered Cleantech Group is dedicated to catalyse the growth of clean technology markets worldwide by providing members access to consultancy, capital, investors, research and promotional opportunities. Its members include more than 8,000 investors, 6,000 companies, and 3,500 professional services providers with more than $3 trillion in assets. While its India advisory board includes billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, its members include the Tata Group and Suzlon. In an email interview with FE’s Rajiv Tikoo, Sheeraz Haji, CEO of Cleantech Group, gives an insight into the growing cleantech market worldwide and how India can take a leadership position irrespective of carbon markets. Excerpts:
India is doing well in cleantech, going by latest reports. What is stopping the country from emerging as a clear leader in this space?
While Indias strengths lie in its strong technology companies, history of innovation and entrepreneurship, and a record of protection of intellectual property rights, the difficulty or the perception of difficulty of doing business in India is a limitation.
What is it that can give Indian businesses an edge over the competition globally?
Indian businesses are among the strongest globally. They have deep energy and technology experiences that make them uniquely positioned to source innovation globally and use it to grow cleantech businesses in India. Indian businesses also have big opportunities to enter external cleantech markets, leveraging their IT know-how.
The renewable energy market is picking up faster in developing countries like India in contrast to Clean Development Mechanism market, which is suffering from uncertainty about its status post-2012. Do you see the approach to climate change shifting from carbon management to cleantech deployment?
I do. The biggest opportunities over the next decade and beyond will be in the emerging economies like India. This cuts across all segments of the cleantech landscape.
How much of a difference will the operationalisation of Cancun accords like green climate fund and technology mechanism make to cleantech business?
While they could have a significant positive impact, there are other big high-return opportunities today that dont rely on the Cancun accords or any other mechanism. For example, the energy efficiency markets are filled with high return investment opportunities.
Will the growing negative sentiment about nuclear energy after the Fukushima Daiichi plant accident lead to increased use of fossil fuels and more emissions, or push costs of nuclear energy and make renewables more competitive?
We believe the Japan tragedy represents a significant setback for the development of new nuclear plants globally. This will not only accelerate the deployment of renewables but is also likely to lead to extension of the life of coal plants that would otherwise have been shut down. It provides a renewed interest in technologies to make coal cleaner. Besides, as Japan heads into hotter summer months and wrestles with limiting energy use across its economy, we will see renewed interest in demand response, industrial energy efficiency and other ways to save electricity across the global economy.
Source: The Financial Express
Published on 13 May 2011