An energy efficient business model

An energy efficient business model

India’s drive to encourage the use of efficient LED light bulbs has till now been restricted, for the most part, to households. The government leveraged its buying power to make LEDs available at discounted prices. Lighting takes up about 15 per cent of the total power consumption. That can be reduced to about 2 per cent, if LEDs are adopted across the board. Commerce and industry, which will grow exponentially as India grows and urbanises, must come on board.
The Indiabulls group’s offer to deploy energy-efficient lighting equipment for zero upfront cost, with the payment to be made from energy savings realised over two years, is an attractive model that other suppliers of energy-efficient equipment, not limited to lighting, can and should adopt, to improve the economy’s energy efficiency while making profits for the equipment makers, financiers and, eventually, users of the equipment.
Such a business model would also align with broader goals of improving energy efficiency, lowering emission intensity and avoiding a spike in emissions. Much of India’s infrastructure is yet to be built. Growth of towns will mean a rise in the lighting requirements of offices, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, warehouses, showrooms, roads, streets, schools, signage and displays.
A cost-effective pathway for this growing segment to transition to LEDs makes smart business and economic sense, given the energy and cost savings and smaller carbon footprint, the switch would yield. Rooftop solar deployments already follow this model.
The Indian market is big enough for multiple players, and has the benefit of scale. It can also provide the leverage to enter other new markets. Such efforts will help reduce peak electricity demand, drive down costs and result in millions of tonnes of avoided carbon dioxide emissions.