Post Budget Quote – Mr. Rahul Walawalkar, President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA)
Post Budget Quote – Mr. Rahul Walawalkar, President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) :
“In line with the vision to make India pollution free, the Government of India has once again shown its commitment to encourage and implement electric vehicles and clean fuel energy. Announcements of tax rebates on the import of EV technology, including batteries and motors ranging from 10 to 25 percent, and incentives for local battery manufacturing will speed up the EV revolution. We are happy to see the continuing support of the GoI in realizing India’s EV dream. We urge the Government to take swift action in launching the National Energy Storage Mission in order to support the development of an R&D and manufacturing ecosystem for energy storage and EVs.”
Rahul is the President and Managing Director of Customized Energy Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. He leads the Emerging Technologies practice for Customized Energy Solutions globally with focus on energy storage, renewables, demand response and smart grid technologies as well as international markets. Rahul has been involved in evaluating economics of emerging technologies in deregulated electricity markets since 2004. His activities covers complete range of smart grid, demand response, microgrid and energy storage technologies. Rahul is also the founder and Executive Director of India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). He served as a member of the Board of Directors of Energy Storage Association (ESA) in US during 2009-15 and was elected as Secretary in 2013. Rahul served as the Vice Chair for Global Energy Storage Alliance (GESA) during 2014-18 and currently Chair’s GESA from November 2018.
Rahul is involved in providing inputs for demand response, energy storage & smart grid policy to government agencies in US and India. He has provided inputs to multilateral agencies such as IRENA, IEA & ADB.
- He served as an expert evaluator for US Department of Energy, US during 2009-12.
- In 2012, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) nominated him as the chairperson of a working group on Integrating Renewables, Micro-Grids and Storage as part of Smart Grid Coordination Committee.
- He was involved in designing India’s 1st voluntary Demand Response program for Tata Power in Mumbai in 2011, which is recognized by CII with most innovative energy service award for 2012.
- In 2013, Rahul was also nominated as member of national taskforce for integration of renewable energy sources in the Grid during the 12th Plan by Central Electricity Authority & Ministry of Power.
- In 2014, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) nominated him on the standing committee for energy storage and hybrids.
- In 2015, Institution of Engineering (India) , Pune Chapter awarded Rahul the prestigious “IE (India Energy) Award” for contributions in field of renewable energy.
- In 2016, Energy Storage Association (USA) recognized CES with the Brad Roberts Outstanding Industry Achievement Award and IPPAI recognized CES India with Power innovation Award.
- In 2017, Rahul was awarded Jury’s recognition as “Storage Crusader” at Renewable Energy India Awards and IPPAI recognized CES with Power Innovation Award for creation of IESA.
- In 2018, Rahul was invited to be part of Expert Committee to draft the National Energy Storage Mission by MNRE. He was recognized with India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) President’s Award for outstanding contribution to growth of smart grids in India.
Rahul has delivered presentations in 100+ international conferences during last decade and has also authored six book chapters on topics covering energy efficiency, demand response and energy storage. Rahul has obtained Smart Grid Maturity Model (SGMM) Navigator certification from Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute. Prior to joining CES, Rahul lead in house energy management and new product development group (iGEMS- Ideas – Generation, Evaluation and Monitoring System) for Tata Infotech (now part of TCS). Rahul is recipient of Computer Society of India’s Young IT Professional Award for 2001 and 2002. He is also a Certified Energy Manager. Rahul holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. He also holds Masters in Energy Management from New York Institute of Technology and undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli.
About India Energy Storage Alliance
India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) was launched in 2012 to assess the market potential of Energy Storage Technologies in India, through an active dialogue and subsequent analysis among the various stakeholders to make the Indian industry and power sector aware of the tremendous need for Energy Storage in the very near future. IESA aims to make India a Global Hub for research and manufacturing of advanced energy storage technologies by 2020. During past years IESA membership has grown from 5 to 80+ and covers verticals from Energy Storage Manufacturers, Research institutes & universities, Renewable Energy companies and Power electronics companies. IESA website: www.indiaesa.info
About Customized Energy Solutions:
Established in 1998, Customized Energy Solutions is an energy advisory and service company that works closely with Clients to navigate the wholesale and retail electricity markets across the United States and globally, including India, Japan, Canada and Mexico. CES offers software solutions, back office operational support, and advisory and consulting services focused on asset optimization and energy market participation efficiency. CES is also a third-party asset manager of approximately 10,000MWs of renewable and conventional generation resources across all ISOs in the United States and Ontario, Canada. CES empowers clients to achieve their goals by helping them navigate the evolving energy markets, complex market rules, and new energy technologies entering the markets. CES website: http://ces-ltd.com/
Source: keycommunications.in
