Abhay Bakre, Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, talks to Sangeeta Yadav about his plans to launch an industry code for energy conservation and implementation of two new financial mechanisms that will boost SMEs
It has been four months since you have taken over Bureau of Energy Efficiency as Director General, what has been your focusIJ
It came as a very big opportunity to me and it is very interesting sector to work on. In the last four months, I have tried to find out what are the new areas where the large scale energy conservation programme can be started. The focus has been on making the consumers and the authorities aware about the benefits of energy efficiency, initiate many more schemes, upscaling of existing programmes which has already been a success in the past along with encouraging new thinking and out of the box approach.
What are the potential areas you are planning to work onIJ
I am focusing on two major sectors – industry and building. In case of industrial sector, the large industries have been given targets to arrange their own finances to change their technology. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which have smaller investment scale, getting finance has been an issue. For them energy efficiency was not their first priority thus, their projects were not taking off well at a large scale. To kick start that intervention in the SME sector, it is important to have a smooth flow of funds, technology providers and innovators.
What is the biggest challenge for you to work onIJ
I have spent a lot of time for the past four months on the financing aspect of energy efficiency projects. The investment potential in the energy efficiency project ranges from Rs 1.2 lakh crore up to Rs 1.5 lakh crore. And to reach that target, I am constantly working with Energy Service Company (ESCO), Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Renewable Energy Certificate (REC), financial institutions and many other partners and experts working in the field of energy efficiency, towards building efficiency to come up with innovative financing mechanism.
What are some of the new financial mechanism in the pipelineIJ
We have already rolled out two funds - Partial Risk Guarantee Fund (PRGF) and Venture Capital Fund for Energy Efficiency (VCFEE) which are ready for implementation but still at a very conservative level. The target is to tap the potential of almost one lakh crore investment markets of energy efficiency in the coming three to five years. Through PRGF schemes, up to 50 per cent financial support is guaranteed to any energy efficiency project. It will also address all the collateral issues in the bank loan. Both the schemes will benefit the SMEs’ projects which were not taking off well on a large scale, in the past.
What was the idea behind launching Energy Efficiency Building CodeIJ
Building is one area which is very close to every citizen and a complete programme on saving energy through constructing a habitat with energy efficient appliances would help to bring down the bill by 30 per cent. With this intent we have launched this Energy Efficiency Building Code on June 19. It has three levels of energy savings starting with 20 per cent, 35 per cent and 45 per cent. This is possible through good construction material, design and if it’s combined with the renewable resources, we can even go to net zero type of buildings that emphasises on using minimum amount of energy within 24 hours.
There have been talks about launching net zero campus. Can you give us an overviewIJ
The first net zero campus is coming out in Nalanda University where we will be using energy from solar rooftop and other renewable resources. We will also be utilising natural light and free ventilation. What we want is to be reminded of the ancient architecture and habitat while giving enough comfort during all seasons and have minimum impact on energy resources.
What changes would you be introducing in the appliances segmentIJ
After the success of star labeling, we are encouraging appliance industries to come up with super-efficient category of appliances which will be one or two levels higher than the normal five stars. We have already seen the success of lED and we will be making lEDs mandatory in another six months or so. We also want to go for high efficiency AC, lED lamps and ceiling fans. This will take industries and manufacturing sectors to another level.
What are your future plansIJ
Similar to Building code, we are planning to come out with the Industry code that will define the guidelines on how much efficiency industries should achieve in all electronic appliances. I want to make sure that there are enough technologies available that can save 20-30 per cent energy.
Going the digital way, we are planning to build a portal where architects and building professionals can interact and come up with best designs and energy efficiency appliances for the buildings.
Are you working on any plans to launch new courses on energy conservationIJ
We are in talks with NCERT to include specific topics on energy efficiency for Class IX and X. We have also suggested introducing a new curriculum in the architecture colleges about Energy Conservation Act. To spread awareness about the energy efficiency, we are also organising energy efficiency challenges in schools and colleges.