India's renewable energy sector holds promise

Pushkala Lakshmi Ratan, a senior analyst with NEG Micon (India) Pvt Ltd, was speaking today at the 'Enviro 2005', a major conference (22-23 November 2005) on environmental safety and health organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Ratan said there were a large number of international buyers ready to enter into Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements (ERPA) with the Indian industry. India's renewable energy players have great potential in the clean development mechanism (CDM) market, an initiative under the Kyoto Protocol that seeks to lower emissions of harmful greenhouse gases.

One of India's leading private sector firms, ITC, launched an energy efficiency drive to tap the CDM market in 1999. "The company today covers 86 percent of its own emissions through plantations and hopes to become carbon positive in 2006," said HD Kulkarni, ITC's deputy general manager.