From a perennially energy-deficient state with a peak shortage of 14 per cent in 2010 to a peak shortage of less than one per cent in 2018, India has moved miles from the days of energy blackouts and frequent power cuts.

In an interview with POWER TODAY, Dr Rahul Walawalkar, Executive Director, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), recommends that India must actively pursue bilateral agreements with rare Earth-rich nations, besides exploring such materials on its own territory to successfully meet the requirements of the emerging energy storage industry.

Sanjeev K Ahuja, Head, Marketing, Su-Kam Power Systems emphasises the need for a strong storage industry to sustain the rapid growth in the country's renewable energy space.

Wind dominates the renewable energy (RE) segment with an installed capacity of over 34,000 MW. The segment, which was once the leader in RE, may lose its sheen as grid-connected solar energy may take over wind in the coming years

In June 2018, the government has revised the targets for 2022 to increase the solar power capacity to 113 GW from the earlier set 100 GW. Though the industry has the capability to meet this, it is fighting policy-level challenges.

Competition exists in every sector; since solar is in demand and is a lucrative business arena, the competition only keeps intensifying.

The history of Brugg dates back to 126 years and we entered the Indian market a bit late. However, though we have been in the Indian market for just 15 years now, we are among the few players who manufacture high voltage cables upto 550 kV.

Ducab is in its 40th year and was started by a British company-BICC- jointly with the Dubai government way back in 1979. Over the years, with strategic decisions, the British ownership of the business was taken over by Abu Dhabi government.

This is one industry which definitely has to grow because despite the size of our population, we have very low electricity consumption. Although industrialisation has proceeded at a slow pace here, there is no way it can be reversed; it can only go up.