TODAY EXPRESS NEWS ( AJAY VERMA ) March 15, 2018, New Delhi: Dharmendra Debendra Pradhan, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, inaugurated the first edition of Delhi Energy Dialogue (DED) 2018, today, in the Capital.
“India is a happening place for energy. Every day 40 million people are going to hydrocarbon retail points to meet their demand, and 190 million people are getting the benefit of subsidies. India offers 1 lakh crore of bio-fuel and bio-energy business to the world. India is the third largest primary consumer of energy after USA and China. In the next 25 years, that is, by 2040, India’s energy consumption will grow by CAGR of 4 %, said Pradhan.
The event was organised by Ashden India Collective (AIC) in alliance with the Climate Parliament and TERI. Delhi Energy Dialogue 2018 brought together all the stakeholders in the field of energy and power, on a common platform to deliberate on key developments and challenges for ‘energy for all’ in India. The industry and energy leaders, along with the policy makers, discussed the current scenario, roadmap to achieve the target for renewable energy generation of 175 Gigawatt by 2022, opportunities and challenges.
Speaking at the inaugural session, Sarah Butler-Sloss, Director and Advisor and also, founder of Ashden, UK, said, “Ashden India Collective (AIC) is bridging the gap between organisations that are working on the ground to accelerate energy access for all and the policy makers that enable innovative business models to take off, by creating a positive environment. It is capitalising on the critical mass of innovative business models that are delivering so many sustainable energy projects in India. There are now 25 Indian Ashden Award winners that are involved in AIC and at Ashden, we are so excited to see them working with each other and India’s government to help increase access to clean, affordable energy.”
Ashden India Collective strives to achieve energy poverty reduction, social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and economic growth in the country. “Our members have collectively provided 1.5 million households with clean cooking solutions like bio-gas and clean cook stoves. Next growth in renewable energy is from bio-energy, which will be bigger than solar growth. The potential of harnessing bio-energy will eliminate import of LPG,” said Hemant Lamba, Chairman, Ashden India Collective.
Ashden Award winners contribute 10 million tonnes of carbon emission reduction annually and have transformed 8 million lives along with 1,35,800 children learning the concept of sustainability under LESS CO2 School Programmes, in India.
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About Ashden: Ashden established the Ashden India Collective (AIC) in 2010 to help increase access to energy for India’s rural poor – and to capitalise on the critical mass of innovative business models delivering sustainable energy in the country.
Established in the year 2013, Ashden India Collective (Ashden India) is a network of India-based winners of Ashden Awards, AIC members have been supporting the collective in its outreach and policy development activities
Currently, 25 Indian Ashden Award winners are involved in AIC and work in varied sector with India’s government to help increase access to clean, affordable energy.
