Gayathri Vaidyanathan :: » environment

Automakers Hit Pay Dirt in Rural India

vaidyg — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:07:31 +0000

Rickshaws and bullock carts may be anachronisms elsewhere, but they are the standard means of transportation in rural India. But with government incentives and aggressive salesmanship by manufacturers, cars are making inroads into these untouched markets.

India is currently the 11th-largest passenger car market, and in the next five years it will become the seventh-largest, according to Ernst & Young. By 2030, the nation is expected to be the third-biggest after China and the United States. The country adds 1.5 million cars every year to its roads, and experts say sales could explode, a move that could greatly inflate India’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“India is an underpenetrated market,” said Kapil Arora, a partner in the automotive practice at Ernst & Young. “It has nine cars per 1,000 people. In the United States, there are about 800 cars per 1,000 people.”

Britain To Face Energy Shortages

vaidyg — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:19:20 +0000

Britain faces serious power shortages in the next four years because of an aging energy infrastructure, warned the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), the United Kingdom's chief energy regulator.

Cleantech Hubs Emerge Worldwide

vaidyg — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:39:25 +0000

Will Silicon Valley be left in the dust of other nations in the clean energy race? Washington, of course, says no, promising $2.5 billion for renewable-energy research and another $37 million for small businesses to develop cleantech. Silicon Valley says that's not enough.