'We need major rebranding of the renewable industry/

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: Malini Mehra is a well-known name in corporate social responsibility and sustainability circles the world over. She advises corporates like Unilever, BHP Billiton and Fortis. The founder and CEO of India and UK-based Centre for Social Markets (CSM) is also the architect of Climate Challenge India campaign, which also serves as a platform for launching reports. Its recent report, India: Renewable Energy Trends, has been authored by Fulbright scholar Alexis Ringwald. Malini Mehra, who has edited the report, discusses the issues related to renewable energy in an email interaction with FE. Excerpts:

What are the distinguishing characteristics of renewable energy trends in India?

India is no slouch when it comes to renewable energy. We’ve shown vision in the past with the establishment of the world’s first government department for non-conventional energy in 1982, updated to a ministry in 1992; and have the largest renewable energy programme in the world. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that we still have an overall energy balance in the country, which is overwhelmingly fossil-fuel based.

What is holding back a higher growth in renewables in India? Is it lack of political will or economic viability?

The renewables sector in India is alive and thriving. It’s become more diversified and more diffused across different sectors. But moving it from the margins to the centre of our energy system will require attention to some well-known barriers to implementation. These barriers include lack of reliable policies and regulatory measures to promote renewables; lack of suitable finance and business models for long-term investment in renewable technologies; lack of a level playing field for all forms of energy; weak awareness of potential returns from renewable projects among investors; lack of appreciation of wider social, environmental and economic benefits from renewables. The good news is that there are solutions to all of these barriers.

Isn’t economic viability going to be an issue for quite some time?

The economics add up too—if you do them the right way. Take the traditional calculus used by economists. This type of economic calculus is ecologically illiterate because externalities such as environmental and social damage are not factored in. Neither is the carbon price. In the coming years the carbon price will be integral to economic analysis. This will finally help create a more level playing field for renewables that is presently denied by the fossil fuel lobby.

How would you compare India and China in this case?

China is the workshop of the world with a heart-stopping rate of growth. But it has not been without its environmental consequences. So, China has its challenges. But it is also ahead of the game than India when it comes to addressing its climate and energy challenge.

The Chinese have deployed energy efficiency measures faster and more effectively than India. And it’s showing in their bottomline in a much more dramatic way than India’s investment in renewable is showing in national productivity. So, while India has a good story to tell in terms of renewable energy, China has a much better story to tell in terms of energy efficiency.

What is the Chinese prescription for the industry?

The Chinese have been smart in using a combination of incentives as well as subsidy-based schemes to shift industrial practices and processes. For example, they’ve introduced incentive schemes for corporates to meet energy efficiency targets rather than just economic development targets; and are considering a surcharge to power rates with the aim of using new funds for energy savings activities. They have established a special fund to promote energy efficiency during its 11th five-year plan and allocated $900 million for energy efficiency support in 2007 alone.

What can the Indian government do to get the private sector to participate more in the renewable energy sector?

The best thing the government can do is to provide a clear vision, leadership, consistent policies and excellence of governance across the sector. It needs to demonstrate an unequivocal political commitment to a low-carbon future for India, which will unlock even more opportunities for the growth of renewables and energy efficiency. Importantly, given the low degree of energy access and high degree of energy poverty in our country, the government needs to scale up support for small-scale energy producers and eco-efficiency innovators.

How do you see the future of renewable energy in India? Will we become a manufacturing hub for the rest of the world or an end user ourselves?

The future for renewables is positive. But we need to sell it better. Renewables have for too long been seen as the preserve of the geek or the rural poor. It needs a change of image. This is not only about smokeless chullahs, solar lanterns and small-hydro water pumps. It is about how to power India for the 21st century and offer a quality of life for rich and poor alike that is just and sustainable. If we want renewables in every aspect of our lives—from our homes and workplaces, to our vehicles and appliances—they will have to become the new aspiration of the middle class.

The middle class will drive this revolution. And renewables will have to become synonymous with modernity. There is a level of cultural acceptance needed here that we have not considered and that will have to be created. We need a major rebranding exercise for the industry to move from the backwaters of geekdom to the new heights of cultural desirability.