I was visiting an Indian village 350 miles east of Hyderabad and got to watch a very elderly Indian man undergo an EKG in a remote clinic, while a heart specialist, hundreds of miles away in Bangalore, watched via satellite TV and dispensed a diagnosis. This kind of telemedicine is the I.T. revolution at its best. But what struck me most was that just underneath the TV screen, powering the whole endeavor, were 16 car batteries -- the E.T., energy technology, revolution, at its worst. Some 250 million Indians today have cellphones. Many of them are people who make just $2 or $3 a day. More and more are getting access to computers and the Internet, even in villages. But only 85 percent of Indian villages are electrified -- and that is being generous, since many still don't have reliable 24/7 quality power. If only ... If only we could make a breakthrough in clean, distributed power -- an E.T. revolution -- it could drive the I.T. revolution into every forgotten corner of the world to create jobs, light up schools and tap the innovative prowess of rural populations, like India's 700 million villagers.
Some 250 million Indians today have cellphones. Many of them are people who make just $2 or $3 a day. More and more are getting access to computers and the Internet, even in villages. But only 85 percent of Indian villages are electrified -- and that is being generous, since many still don't have reliable 24/7 quality power.
If only ... If only we could make a breakthrough in clean, distributed power -- an E.T. revolution -- it could drive the I.T. revolution into every forgotten corner of the world to create jobs, light up schools and tap the innovative prowess of rural populations, like India's 700 million villagers.
If only... Don't people learn any basic physics anymore? Energy is not something you can create out of nothing; energy cannot be concentrated at will.
Can't we ever assume that the energy revolution might not come at all?
Far more mileage in "Meso" community projects on a neighbourhood and area (multiple neighbourhoods) scale basis, I think, both in terms of renewable energy generation, and in retrofitting energy efficiency (Negawatt) measures.
But the boundary of Micro and Meso is grey. Of course, there could be some big wins in urban distribution of hot water from current plant by "CHP'ing" them, although the current distribution of UK generation doesn't give that much opportunity. "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
