Wednesday, March 30, 2016

All Electric Fleet in India by 2030?

@ Auto.Com - India, one of the world’s largest car markets, has a very ambitious plan to completely get rid of fuel-powered vehicles by 2030. Is it realistic? Well, according to the Indian Times, there are currently about 50 million homes that don't have access to electricity across the country.

With a booming economy and over a billion people living in India, air pollution from traffic has become a serious concern. A small working group was created to assess different scenarios and possibilities for lowering costs, such as car-sharing initiatives.

"We don't need one rupee support from the government. We don't need one rupee investment from the people of India," Power Minister Piyush Goyal said. "We are working (on the plan). Can we actually give electric car for free (zero down payment) and people can pay for that out of the savings on the petroleum products. Innovation is possible, it just needs an open mind. You need to think of scale and be honest."

India has some experience in energy-saving programs. Goyal cited the example of LED lights where the government has been able to reduce the procurement price of these bulbs from the market rate of 310 rupees in February 2014 to 64.41 rupees in January 2016. Cheaper fans and air conditioners will soon follow.

No comments: