DH Bengaluru 2040 | Experts bat for holistic, equitable energy transition framework

Experts urged the government to adopt systems thinking and an integrated approach to ensure that generation and use of every unit of renewable energy is embedded within the system.

Bengaluru: Experts on Friday urged the government to adopt systems thinking and an integrated approach to ensure that generation and use of every unit of renewable energy is embedded within the system.

Speaking at a DH Bengaluru 2040 session on 'Bengaluru's clean energy transition', Huda Jaffer, Director, SELCO Foundation, said most of the challenges are going to be in getting people who can think in systems and convert them into practice. "The way in which our incentives are aligned are actually siloed," she said, stressing the need for an integrated approach.

Jai Asundi, Executive Director, Center for Study of Science Technology and Policy, noted that the source of energy will become more and more important as governments lay emphasis on the development of the country. "We need to know what our demands are going to be and we have to start thinking about frameworks within which we are able to set the system right," he said.

KP Rudrappaiah, Managing Director, Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited, said Karnataka was probably the first state to come up with an energy conservation policy that aims at saving energy to the tune of 744 kwh of energy. "The policy has helped avoid fossil fuel based projects to the tune of 500 MW," he said.

He cited Pavagada solar park as an example of Karnataka's keen interest in energy transition. "Besides solar, we have pushed for wind energy. We are now looking for battery storage projects. Tenders will be called soon. At the same time, we are working with GBA closely to ensure building code is implemented effectively and brought into bylaws," he added.

Jai said that harnessing the data and building a digital twin for the city to calculate energy transactions both from production as well as consumption perspective would help. "It will also help us to manage the resources as we go forward. We have to start thinking about energy a little more holistically so that once a kW of electricity is generated, it has to be consumed as storage options are limited," he said.

Lanvin Concessao, Program Manager, Energy for Equitable Development, World Resource Institute, pointed to the problem of policies being designed for a majority of the section and leaving out the poor, to stress the need for making energy transition equitable.