Arianna Tozzi from The Climate Group sheds light on LEDs importance in the Indian market.

Policymakers, business leaders and financiers agreed that the global transition to energy efficient lighting solutions such as LEDs is an unprecedented opportunity, at a global event which took place in Vijayawada in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, on April 7-8.

Inaugurated by the Honorable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the International Workshop on Energy Efficient lighting – hosted by World Bank and the Energy Efficiency Service Limited (EESL) in collaboration with Bureau of Energy Efficiency and ESMAP – brought together key stakeholders and practitioners in the lighting sector from across the world. 

Convened in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the event showcased how the government of India is driving adoption of energy efficient lighting at the national level. In January 2015 the Indian Prime Minister Modi launched the National program for LED-based Home and Street Lighting, an initiative to replace 770,000 million bulbs and 35 million street lights with LEDs by 2019.  The program is expected to save up to US$6 billion and help cut peak power demand by 10,000 megawatts (MW) a day upon completion.

STATE PROGRESS

The state of Andhra Pradesh has also made great progresses in advancing energy efficiency measures implemented through EESL – a body established by the Indian Ministry to facilitate financing solutions for energy efficiency projects in the country. EESL promotes both domestic as well as street lighting LED products in India.

At the event, the state’s Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu explained how, with the aid of the EESL, Andhra Pradesh has so far reached almost 80% penetration of LEDs in the domestic sector and upgraded more than 333,000 street lights to LEDs across 34 municipalities in the state.

The two-day event covered themes ranging from the global opportunities for a transition to energy efficient lighting, to specific lighting innovations such as smart lighting and control management systems.

Key barriers to adoption such as financing were also addressed, with practical examples of implementation challenges brought on stage by Indian urban local bodies and municipalities. Presentations were also held by representatives from LED manufacturers and smart system technology providers, financiers and development banks.

On the theme of financing, it was recognized that progress still has to be made to find ways to unlock investment for large-scale LED infrastructure projects in India and other developing and developed regions.

FINANCING LEDS

A finance model offered by EESL was presented along with a new World Bank Partial Risk Sharing Facility Fund. Launched in August 2015 and managed by the Small Industries Development Bank of India, the scheme aims at assisting enterprises and Energy Service Companies to mobilize commercial finance for investments in energy efficiency initiatives.

Aditi Dass who attended the event on behalf of The Climate Group commented: “It is heartening to learn that activities toward faster uptake of LED street lights initiated by The Climate Group back in 2008 have become mainstream in India, especially with help from the Central Government as well as initiatives such as EESL initiated over the last two years.

“However, the high upfront cost for financing LED upgrades still remains a challenge, and innovative instruments need to be designed for financial institutions to safely invest in major LED street lighting projects on a commercial and sustainable basis.”

LED SCALE-UP

To accelerate adoption of energy efficient lighting in India and the rest of the world, over the past two years The Climate Group has worked with Philips Lighting and Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation on a global LED consultation program for cities and municipalities.

Initial findings from our global consultation were presented in The Big Switch report, which was presented at Climate Week NYC  in September 2015. At the global summit, we called for every city and utility around the world to seek to switch to LED lights (or as energy efficient as) by 2025, and launched our LED=Lower Emissions Deliveredcampaign to support cities, utilities and governments around the world in achieving this target.

·         Learn more about our LED Scale-up program.

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