GIM 2009 - POSTED ON: 01 Dec 2009 RESEARCHERS: Eric Abrams, Ruth
Densborn, Allison Koo, Justin Rose India can’t go on like this.
With the country’s rapid economic development has come a massive
increase in energy demand, posing extraordinary environmental
and national security challenges. At present, India’s heavy
reliance on coal condemns the country to pollution rates that
grow at the torrid rate of the economy as a whole. Of equal
concern, India is a net importer of coal and other fossil fuels
– a situation projected to worsen with future economic and
population growth. To ensure a healthy and secure future, India
must find and exploit alternative domestic sources of energy.
For answers, many are looking to the sun: solar power. Despite
solar’s promise, myriad obstacles remain, including finding
financing and overcoming land use issues. But in a country where
over 400 million people still lack adequate access to
electricity, solar’s allure as a clean and potentially plentiful
energy source is impossible to