The Renewables Obligation is part of the country's programme to tackle climate change and to encourage a more sustainable approach to energy consumption.

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

What would happen if you cross-bred J. R. Ewing of "Dallas' and Carl Pope, the head of the Sierra Club? You'd get T. Boone Pickens. What would happen if you cross-bred Henry Ford and Yitzhak Rabin? You'd get Shai Agassi. And what would happen if you put together T. Boone Pickens, the green billionaire Texas oilman now obsessed with wind power, and Shai Agassi, the Jewish Henry Ford now obsessed with making Israel the world's leader in electric cars?

Sushmi Dey NEW DELHI

WITH oil prices ruling high despite recent correction, domestic companies such as Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata BP Solar, Essar Power, Suzlon and Moser Baer are investing more in renewable energy.

While Suzlon, Moser Baer, Indowind and Webel raised $1.4 billion overseas in 2007 through convertible bonds for investment in green energy, RIL, Tata BP Solar and Essar Power raised $628 million on domestic stock exchanges in 2007.

Bob Dylan said it best: "The answer is blowin' in the wind.' While politicians and environmentalists have been busy arguing about how best to require that greenhouse gases be curtailed, the world around them has changed.

The precipitous rise in oil and gas prices over the past year has made the debate on greenhouse gas emissions moot. The reduction in the output of those gases will move forward at warp speed, not because of rules, regulations and cap-and-trade decrees but because of free markets and economics.

KOCHI: Are windmills eco-friendly? Of course, in plains, but not in High Ranges where they pose serious threat to the Earth.

Attappadi hills are the telltale example. It is one of the two sites where windmills are being set up for power generation in the state.

The other being Ramakkalmedu in Idukki district. Apart from these, 16 sites have also been identified for windmills in Kerala.

By K N Reddy, DH News Service, Bangalore:

While states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat are making rapid strides in generating wind energy to augment their power supply, Karnataka is lagging behind in the field.

Delay in getting clearances from the forest department, besides a delay in signing of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) by the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited and the Electricity Supply Companies (ESCOMS) have been cited as some of the reasons for the delay in commissioning wind energy projects in the State.

The Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) will invite tenders in a few months for setting up of a 1450 MW capacity Pumped Storage power generating units across Sharavathi and Kali rivers.

The project, which involves pumping back of water used for generating power into reservoirs, aims at setting up a 800 MW unit at Varahi and 650 MW unit at Sharavathi hydro-stations. The technology will be obtained from Japan the total project cost is estimated to be around Rs 4500 crores.

The lesser inflow of water into rivers and the declining levels in dams and reservoirs across the southern, western and north-eastern regions of the country have led to a sharp decline in power generation, particularly hydro-power. The gas-based stations have also been under-performing due to shortage of fuel, leading to outages, power cuts and blackouts in many parts of the country.

Americans spend $700 billion a year on foreign oil. According to one observer, this is an addiction, a crisis, and a trap. The country must pursue alternative energy sources as fiercely as it once shot for the moon. So far, so much liberal boilerplate. The critic in question, however, is a Republican oilman: T. Boone Pickens. As he puts it, in an Okie drawl:

CASHING IN ON NATURAL RESOURCES Investments in clean technologies are riding a green wave into India. In 2007, Green India Inc raised $1.4 billion through convertible bonds from the international market even as it picked up $628 million from the domestic stock market.

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