Energy-efficient technologies will drive us towards carbon neutral future

Discussing the need to move towards sustainable technologies, Ganesh Kothawade, Sr. Vice President, ElectrificationDistribution Solutions, ABB India Limited., emphasizes on increasing awareness among the customers and users will further help us reduce dependency on follsil fuels and move towards green technologies.

How are the present global trends impacting the demand for electrical and power sector?

Presently, we have various ongoing trends like digitalisation, urbanisation, globalisation, demographic shift that are impacting the health of people and the industries, especially in a Covid era. Let’s not forget the overall impacts on the climate change and on the environment across the world. When we talk about India, we have humungous young population, and with the number of young populations, India can impose pressure to build required additional infrastructure, further opening several avenues for employment opportunities. This will further boost Indian government’s plan to make India a manufacturing hub. 

This push will also augment the demand for power, along with advanced electrical equipment. If we compare a data per capita consumption in India, is hardly 1200 kWh per person, and if we compare it to the developed country which is 10 times more. So, you can imagine even to just reach a world average, our per capita consumption is likely to triple in the next 10 years.

This generates enormous opportunities for an electrical manufacturer in this growing economy, but at the same time, if you really look at the data, today, what power we are producing 65 percent power is getting generated from the fossil fuel and if we see leave alone the carbon which is anywhere harmful, but the power industry is one of the highest contributors to very dangerous gases like H2O and NO2 . Managing this economic growth, meeting an exploration and need of the society without harming the environment will be a challenge, and electrical equipment manufacturer will play a critical role into the same.

How is ABB contributing to reinvent the electrical equipment sector, and in minimising the environmental impacts? 

Being a recognised and a responsible organisation, ABB, along with other electrical manufacturers and the allied electrical equipment manufacturers own this responsibility and comprehend to the need to find ways to manoeuvre from this situation. ABB is also one of the UN driven initiative, ‘Sustainable Energy for All’, and we are one of the 50 leaders combating climate change. As a manufacturer, we want carbon neutrality in our own operations. Secondly, we are trying to supporting our suppliers, and our customers to reduce their carbon emission and its footprints. So, within our own operations we are directing emissions that are generated from the factory, and the vehicle, along with another is the heat generated from the electrical usage. We are using our own energy-efficient technologies to reduce the electrical energy consumption with these technologies. 

We must also look at maximising use of renewable energy either by investing into the renewable itself, or purchasing the renewable energy from the generating company. And the third is, converting the conventional to either electrical or other non-emitting alternatives so as to reduce the fuel dependability and minimise the carbon footprints, as an attempt to attain zero-emission target by 2030. 

Which strategies are in place to reduce the carbon emission and enhance the clean energy scenario in India? 

Our government has set a very ambitious target to go for renewable energy and EPC in the last 8 to 10 years, and the amount of progress we did give an optimism to attain the a quite appreciative portion of the set target. If you see closely, people are slowly shifting towards rooftop solar even into their personal and household premises. So the momentum is clearly visible and acceptance for the same is deepening. 

Also, there is a need to increase awareness among the people and the users about the reduction in environmental impacts in the society. Today, our children force us to keep the environment clean and safe by not destroying plastic items on a public place or at non-climate friendly places. We need to start imposing same pressure on the society to reduce plastic usage and stop dumping plastic. This awareness, aligned with the compulsion will further compel us to bring the carbon neutrality idea into real existence. 

And I think we are already moving in the right direction; we only need to make attempts to increase education, awareness, incentivising such initiatives, and bring intense sensitivity in the society to achieve the same. 

What challenges are you facing in implementing them implementing or implementing advanced technology? 

We need to create awareness among the consumers and customers and educate them with the benefits of these energy-efficient products and technologies. Most of the time we introduce new products and experiment them in the market; but we then we realise that the user/consumer is not familiar with a lot of things related to that product and its services. These experiences sometime lead to failure. But someone has to start, and in our own culture or specification, when you offer proven technologies, builds a confidence among the customers. For this we would need bold buyers who are also willing to experiment with new technologies. So, it takes really a time to convince the people to really experiment and use the latest technology. So, if we develop this type of culture of being bold in using the technology experimenting and even if it gets pills is fine, but not really going for it, then we will be followers, we will never be leaders.

With the increasing demand for electricity and rapid shift towards green energy, wow do you see India’s future? 

This entire transition is going be a big challenge, as converting the entire process from fossil fuels production into generating renewable and sustainable energy is a critical task. And with the growing economy and increasing population, we need to comprehend to the ever growing demand for efficient power supply and accommodate relatable consumption to the users. 

So, 100 percent shift from fossil fuels seems unlikely, but yes, the dependency will definitely be reduced. But getting little more on to the nuclear side, and with more focus on the renewable and hydro, I believe we have various natural resources available particularly in the hilly regions which can expand, if provided some additional investment. Even the power generation companies are making all possible measures to reduce the impact on the environment. So, their own, age old operation that used to emit a lot of carbon dioxide, are now reducing the CO2 release. Electrical equipment manufacturers are really creating a lot of innovative ways inside their own factories supporting their suppliers and bring in innovative products which will be more environmentally friendly, energy efficient and digitally enabled; so that we really support this carbon footprint reduction going forward.