The ZENERGY Podcast: Energy Leadership, Finance, and Technology

Manoj Kohli, the current head of SoftBank India and the former CEO of SoftBank Energy (SBE), was instrumental in enabling SBE to develop 5.5 GW of solar capacity in the Indian market. In this conversation Mr. Kohli shares the story behind what propelled SoftBank to invest in this market in 2015, and how the risks have evolved over the years. This conversation concludes with great guidance to the younger generation — developed from years of experience as a business leader and mentor for countless entrepreneurs. ​

Topics covered in this podcast:

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[2:07] How will renewable energy shape India’s global leadership position in the next decade?

[3:55] When will energy storage become an affordable possible solution?

[6:35] How did the risks in the Indian renewable energy sector evolve from 2015 onwards?

[9:00] What role have foreign direct investments played in the development of RE industry in India?

[10:35] Which will be more difficult to attract, long-term debt, equity or short-term debt?

[11:53] What ultimately led SoftBank to invest in the solar sector in India in 2015?

[13:30] What are the focus areas of possible collaboration between India and the US?

[15:12] Guidance from Mr. Kohli to the younger generation

In this episode, we speak with Siddharth Singh, author of the “Great Smog of India” and co-lead author of India Energy Outlook 2021 for the International Energy Agency. We have a wide-ranging conversation that dives into this Comprehensive report and touch on topics including renewable energy growth and electricity demand  projections, as well as some of the key factors will have a drastic impact these projections. Hope you enjoy this conversation!

Topics Include:

1. How much time is spent collecting data vs. analyzing vs. writing vs. connecting with people when compiling the India Energy Outlook 2021

2. A high-level overview of how the energy sector is structured and the different sub-sets within

3. In the IEA India Energy Outlook 2021, one of the concluding headlines was titled “all roads to successful global clean energy transitions go via India.” Mr. Singh provides some background, for those who haven’t read the report, on why this is

4. Main obstacles that would prevent India from becoming a global leader in the clean energy space

5. Why electricity demand is set to increase much more rapidly than India’s overall energy demand

5. Mr. Singh's overarching thoughts on India's development moving forward

In this episode, I will be speaking with Pallavi Bishnoi, who is the Principal Investment Specialist for Renewable Energy at Invest India, and helped guide ReNew Power’s 2 GW solar manufacturing investment efforts. In this conversation, we discuss the work of Invest India, how the investment process generally plays out, what incentives that states are offering to attract manufacturing investment, and the general investment climate in India's energy space. I hope you enjoy this conversation! 

Topics Covered: 

1. Introduction of role at Invest India

2. How Invest India facilitates investment

3. Process for investing in a solar manufacturing plant in India

4. State-level incentives offered for solar manufacturing

5. Investment interest in India's clean energy manufacturing space

Rajat Verma is the CEO of Lohum Batteries, which is an innovative company that focuses on the cell manufacturing and re-configuration of battery storage systems. Mr. Verma received his MS from Stanford and MBA from Harvard and is an alumnus from IIT Kanpur.   In this episode we discuss the energy storage landscape, how the supply chain is structured, and the steps India must take to become a stronger player in battery development.

Topics covered in this podcast:

Are investors going to hold off on new investments considering the Covid-19 situation?

Lohum's unique capabilities to process anode, cathode and re-configure cells

In this episode we will be speaking with Vibhav Nuwal, the co-founder of REConnect Energy, which is India's largest REC Trader and one of India’s largest provider of Forecasting, Scheduling and advanced analytics services to the Renewable Energy Sector. We discuss ReConnect's origins and the challenges within the REC market. Hope you enjoy this wide-ranging conversation!

Dr. Rahul Walawakar is currently the Executive Director and the President of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), which is a premier alliance that focuses on the advancement of energy storage and e-mobility technologies in India. In this conversation, we will explore the initiatives the Indian government has undertaken to advance energy storage capacity in India, as well as the potential for energy storage solutions in the near and long term.

Topics covered in this podcast:

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Mr. Walawalkar's journey into renewable energy and energy storage and the reason behind launching the India Energy Storage Alliance

How did Mr. Walawalkar decide to focus on energy storage, which was a very marginal concept for India and the world back in 2004

How has the Indian energy storage market developed over the past decade?

What is the current state of energy storage projects in India

Will India implement large scale energy storage projects in the next few years?

What would Dr. Walawakar say to potential US financing entities interested in the energy storage market of India?

Amit Jain is a senior energy specialist at the World Bank India team and former Fulbright scholar with NREL. Mr. Jain worked on the India's first solar project in Gujarat, and also recently led two of the World Bank’s largest solar financing schemes—worth a total of $1.5 billion. In this conversation, we will explore the World Bank’s role in the Indian renewable energy space and how the organization acts as a facilitator of capital. Hope you enjoy my conversation with Mr. Jain and Mr. Srey!

Topics covered in this podcast: 

An introduction to the state of the solar sector in India and the World Bank’s work in this space

How was the WB-SBI financing of $625 million structured to help facilitate more investment?

In depth explanation of how WB facilitates private sector capital, through SBI example

What are proportionate power contracts and how are they structured?

Is payment security a significant challenge in India today with regards to solar?

Is the guarantee model implemented by Mr. Jain's team going to be replicated in other regions?

Did you know India would become as successful as it has become today in solar? Moving forward, do you think India will continue to be a global leader in this space?

Mr. Srey’s insights

Gaurav Gupta is the Global Head of Dalberg’s Energy practice, which is one of the world's top impact consulting firms. As the founder of Dalberg's Asia practice, Mr. Gupta has been a key contributor for Dalberg's growth and primarily focuses his efforts in the areas of energy access, sustainability, access to education, and poverty alleviation. In this conversations, Mr. Gupta breakdowns decentralized eneryg applications and provides his perspective on what he believes the future of energy to look like.

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Topics covered in this podcast

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[2:38] A brief introduction of the speaker and their involvement in the energy sector

[6:17] What are the categories of energy Dalberg works on?

[12:25] Is Dalberg's focus on centralized or off-grid?

[14:45] Will there be large scale development in decentralized energy distribution across India?

[19:27] Will India be an established global leader in the renewable sector moving forward?

KVS Baba is the chairman and managing director of the Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO), which is the Indian government organization responsible for ensuring the integrated operation of the Grid in a reliable, efficient and secure manner. In this conversation, Mr. Baba provides his perspective on the system level challenges associated with the integration of renewable energy sources.  Mr Baba also discusses POSOCO's primary functions and work in the improvement of forecasting the demand for and supply of energy. Hope you enjoy my conversation with Mr. Baba!

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Topics covered on this podcast:

What are the primary functions of POSOCO?

What work has POSOCO engaged in to improve RE forecasting and the demand estimate?

What system level challenges will India face in its attempts to achieve the 2022 RE targets?

Dan Croft is a founding member of the IFC scaling solar program and was instrumental in  developing and implementing IFC's so-called ‘Upstream’ strategy. He has been involved in the renewable sector since the beginning of his  career, and has extensive experience advising governments and other  authorities on how to form public-private partnerships in the energy sector. In this interview, Mr. Croft gives us an insight into the  African solar market, what the challenges for renewable energy  integration are across several African countries, and why storage will  play such a key role moving forward. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Mr. Croft!

[2:06] A brief introduction to Mr. Croft's involvement in the energy sector

[4:17] What was the idea behind the first scaling solar initiative, which was in Zambia? 

[6:14] What were the key challenges in the African solar market, early on in its development? 

[13:29] What  are the primary obstacles which the IFC scaling solar program helps to  manage across the RE markets in Northern, Eastern and Western African countries? 

[20:29] How important will energy storage be in the IFC scaling solar's future programming? 

[23:00] What does the future of renewable energy look in Africa?