India just announced its biggest oil find in two decades.
Yet that's not the biggest energy news in the capital. . .
Instead, number-crunchers are uncovering India's advantage in limiting industrial pollution, and the consequent leg up that new Indian clean energy companies will have.
"Implausible (emission) results have been cited to portray a steep rise in India's emissions," said Dr. Prodipto Ghosh, a fellow at the Energy Resources Institute (TERI), in an interview with the Calcutta Telegraph on September 2.
He derided "guesstimates" by western researchers that aim to justify inaction on the part of developed countries.
You've heard it before from the do-nothing chorus: "If India and China don't clean up their consumption, then how can America or Britain?"
As we move toward the COP-15 summit on emissions reduction this December in Copenhagen, Indian researchers are calling B.S. on fuzzy math.
Just a week after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opened the spigot at western India's Barmer field, where Scottish energy operator Cairn Energy (LSE:CNE) announced a 3.5 billion-barrel discovery in 2004, the government released a flurry of new figures that show India's emissions well below the 2005 global average — in 2030!
"The debate on emissions has until now been pushed by research from the developed countries that does not capture India-specific or developing-country realities," Dr. Ghosh griped. He can actually claim the most credit on this one, as TERI came out with a higher number than the four models the National Council for Applied Economic Research delivered to press.
TERI projects per capita emissions of 5 tonnes in 2030, which would be above the 2005 global average. The other university-based studies gave a range of between 2.77 and 3.9 tonnes, which comes in below the worldwide mean of 4.22 tonnes four years ago.
Dr. Ghosh formerly served as a secretary in the Environment Ministry, and he knows what gears are turning today. The base case in many non-Indian studies doesn't take into account moves that the Indian government is making to boost efficiency and stimulate clean energy production.
And alongside scientists, economists are stepping up to bat — cricket, of course — for India. Jadavpur University Professor Joyashree Roy helped develop one of the academic models released this week. She says it "takes into account technology changes, energy efficiency and the behavioral response of producers and consumers."
If outsiders claim to predict India's climate impact in two decades without acknowledging its transition to cleantech, they're guilty of academic dishonesty.
And I'll tell you right now that as an investor, if you ignore India's clean energy push. . . you're guilty of leaving a pile of money on the table.
Indian Energy IPO
Indian Energy Ltd. debuted on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on Wednesday, bringing in $15.75 million in its IPO.
With offices in London and Mumbai (Bombay), this wind turbine operator is shooting for 300 MW of operating capacity in four years. That will mean a major, nationwide push from its current capacity of around 25 MW, along with more equity financing and help from State Bank of India, the country's biggest bank.
SBOI has already ponied up over $18 million for Indian Energy Ltd., which shows the local financial community's commitment to developing green alternatives that can supplant coal and oil. As it stands, those two resources generate over 80% of India's power production.
Electricity access falls short of what is needed for India to continue growing at a 7%-9% clip per year, and Indian Energy is working on bigger listings on the LSE and Bombay Stock Exchange to tap what international investors recognize as a critical need with market opportunity built-in.
PM Singh wants Indian solar power output up to 20 GW by 2020, which will enable millions of Indians to wire their homes for the first time with the help of rooftop PV units.
Industrial-scale projects will also be added to the mix, but Indian Energy states it's sticking to wind. Not every Indian clean power producer has to be a Jack of all trades, and serious infrastructure challenges remain. Yet, as the prime minister said this August:
"In dealing with the challenge of climate change and environmental degradation we face the unfair burden of past mistakes not of our making. However, as we go forward in the march of development, we have the opportunity not to repeat those mistakes."
Green Chip International subscribers have already closed one AIM-listed Indian renewable energy player for gains of more than 40%. In fact, our average upside has been just below 40% over the life of the GCI portfolio.
As India's government and researchers continue to team up with international investors to make India's clean energy transition a reality, we'll keep you up to date.
Regards,
Sam Hopkins
P.S. On September 11, Managing Editor Jeff Siegel will be speaking at the Modern Energy Investor Forum in Denver. The conference managers have offered a special rate of $300 for any Green Chip members who want to attend. The regular price is $500. Click here for more information. Please note that in order to attend the conference, you must be a registered attendee. Also, in order to get the discount, make sure you reference "Green Chip Stocks" in the "interests" section on the form.
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