Time for Change

After 21 months of working for Intellecap in a range of capacities from business planning for microfinance institutions to organizing a Microfinance Investors' Tour, my life is taking a change in another direction -- renewable energy.

India is growing in some interesting ways -- the tech boom has created a much wealthier middle class that with a growing disposable income. Service and industry alike are growing rapidly. And Tata just yesterday introduced the INR 1 lakh (USD 2,500) car. What does all this translate into? Energy supply that is currently insufficient to meet demand already (black and brownouts are common even in cities) -- a problem that can only become more important as energy demand rises.

So, there are two options. 1. Continue to build large, dirty, coal and other non-renewable energy plants. 2. Build on India's strength in technology and innovation to leverage renewable energy like wind, solar, biomass, biofuels, hydrogen, and fuel cells, as well as develop energy efficiency technologies.

What route with India go? I'll be watching with avid interest.