With a vision to create a conducive environment that direct and nurture innovation in India and successfully advances its role in the global energy transition, the fourth edition of the International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2019) kicked off in Mumbai. The two-day symposium is being organised by Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) in association with The World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and World Resources Institute, India (WRI India) and country partner the Government of Israel. Based on the theme of Innovation, INSPIRE 2019 honoured five pathbreaking innovations in clean energy and energy efficiency as part of the second edition of #InnovateToINSPIRE challenge, a first-of-its-kind energy innovation challenge.
INSPIRE 2019 was inaugurated by Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India in the presence of other dignitaries including Demetrios Papathanasiou, Manager, Energy and Extractive, Global Practice South Asia Region, The World Bank, Dr. Priyantha D. C. Wijayatunga, Director, South-Asia Energy Division, ADB, Keith E. Simmons, Director, USAID, Gurdeep Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, NTPC, Ya’akov Finkelstein, Consul. General, Consulate General of Israel.
Speaking at the occasion, Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India said, “India has adopted and is working to deliver a combination of 24X7 energy access, energy affordability, and energy sustainability. These have brought into focus the need for stronger cross-stakeholder partnerships. Only by coming together can accelerate efforts to achieve these goals. INSPIRE 2019 is the right step in this direction. The nation has taken incredible strides in creating the greenest version of the energy grid, we must now push the envelope and think bigger. In this regard, INSPIRE is not a singular moment, but a significant turning point in our collective ambitions.”
Power Secretary also recognised winners of the #InnovateToINSPIRE challenge, which was organized between April 15, 2019 and November 11, 2019 in the run-up to INSPIRE 2019. The challenge invited participants to submit sustainable and scalable solutions to five specific challenges spanning grid management, eMobility, energy efficient technologies, clean energy and financial instruments. From 831 entries, five winners were selected by an eminent jury comprised of Indian and international experts in the field of energy. The winning entries will receive an award of Rs. 5 lakhs, each, along with mentoring and guidance from EESL to help them bring their solutions to market.
Highlighting the partnership between Israel and India in the field energy sustainability, Ya’akov Finkelstein, Consul. General of Israel in Mumbai said, “As today’s world creates much room for industrial and economic advancement, the call of the hour is to seek ways to promote energetic sustainability, for the sake of future generations. Israel has been a leader in bringing innovations to the world to improve productivity, efficiency and inclusive growth. During this two-day event, Israel, as a Country Partner in INSPIRE 2019, will discuss with Indian partners innovative ways to promote energy efficiency and face together this common global challenge. We are immensely happy to be part of INSPIRE 2019 and we hope that energy sustainability will become another strong pillar of the India -Israel relationship.”
INSPIRE 2019 has been organised in collaboration with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI). The event is bringing together policy-makers, influencers, innovators, thought leaders, researchers, leading energy-efficient companies, government agencies, business leaders and other stakeholders to deliberate on key energy policies, market transformation strategies, and sustainable business models that will help leverage the full potential of energy efficiency and bring its multiple co-benefits to the fore.
Gurdeep Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, NTPC said, “We believe an event like INSPIRE gives platform of opportunities to the budding entrepreneurs to showcase their ready solutions in the presence of expertise environment. I am assured that this two-day symposium will not just see enriching deliberations on clean energy but will also come out with transformative ideas and technologies that can bolster India’s sustainability efforts”.
During INSPIRE 2019, EESL and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) exchanged agreement for a Joint Venture, IntelliSmart Infrastructure (IntelliSmart) unveiled the logo of IntelliSmart. This initiative will help to implement, finance and operate the smart meter roll-out programme of power distribution companies. The partnership of NIIF & EESL will spur the Smart Meter ambition of the Government of India.
At INSPIRE 2019, EESL entered into an agreement with Axis Bank under the Building Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP). In partnership with Axis Bank, EESL will implement Energy Efficiency Measures in around 1300 branches across the country initially, on deemed energy savings based ESCO model with 100% financing by EESL and then scale it up further.
Further, EESL & Innovative Infocom also stepped forward and exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding for implementation of Natural Gas Engine based Trigeneration Solution at Navi Mumbai, India. In this project, EESL offers long term leasing solution, wherein, initial investment will be done by EESL. Additionally, EESL will operate and maintain the Trigeneration plant for initial period of 8 years, thereafter it may further extendable. It has been estimated that the potential CO2 reduction, by implementing 2 MW Natural Gas Engine based Power station with Heat Recovery system, will be to the tune of 6120000 kg CO2 annually.