Energypreneurs

Ashok Bhargava, Director, Energy Division, Central and West Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank discusses the significant changes in the mindset in the central Asian countries. Ashok explains why the next decade belongs to the Central Asian region as the countries transition and open up the energy sector for new investments. From a distance the countries appear part of a scattered region...

Greg is the Elon Musk of Australia? In today's episode we explore his passion for electric vehicles (EV) and the entire ecosystem around them. His mid-size Australian startup, with $1 million of his own money, and the readiness to expand in other countries. His company, ACE EV Group, has the technology and systems in place to Jumpstart electric vehicle manufacturing anywhere in a very short period...

In this episode, Dr. Yongping Zhai, the Chief of Asian Development Bank's Energy Sector Group, shares his insights into China's pro-renewable energy and pro-climate change policy shift.  Today, China leads the global renewable energy revolution. Yongping explains, how the pollution level during the Beijing Olympic triggered a shift in the mindset of people, enabling them to see the clear link betw...

Anna Francesca Ramirez or Chesca is my guest for today. She will help you track the path of your household waste to its final resting place and this is a profitable business. We discuss many opportunities in this path, in the case of the Philippines. Chesca explains some of the problems in today's waste industry and wastes energy technologies and her interest to improve the current local waste man...

Uzbekistan's power sector is changing--the sector was recently unbundled and government achieved record low prices from its large solar power auction.  I met Ms. Aziza Umarova, the CEO of SmartGov Consulting, in Tashkent Uzbekistan and had a long chat over coffee on broad range of energy sector issues.     We touched upon the power sector unbundling, future of solar power, and energy efficiency: w...

Solar power in India developed fast and current capacity is about 37,000 MW – a staggering 230 times growth in the last 10 years. In this episode, Dr. Pradeep Perera Energy Head (India) / Principal Energy Specialist  ADB and Jiwan Acharya, Principal Energy Specialist of the Asian Development Bank share their insight into the Indian energy sector.  We get their insight, why rooftop solar took longe...

Dr. Yongping Zhai, the Chief of Asian Development Bank's Energy Sector Group explains his journey from the African Development bank to Asian Development Bank just after the Asian Financial Crisis. He shares his observations on the changing priorities for the energy sector as countries have developed, and explains how his team prioritizes environmental sustainability and climate change, which is at...

Batteries are changing the world. And today our guest is battery guru from South Korea, who has been in the industry for about 20 years. Andrew discussed the 5 key suppliers that produce 90% of today's Lithium-Ion battery and how battery prices changed over the years and continuing. We explored his views on the shortage of raw materials, the future of pricing, and second-life batteries. Although I...

Today we discuss solar power with Glenn Tong, a leading solar entrepreneur in the Philippines. I met Glenn more than 10 years back when as a young entrepreneur, his company installed the largest rooftop solar installation (570 kW) in the Southeast Asian region. Since that project in June 2012, Glenn and his team have been involved in about 30,000 small and large solar projects. In this episode, we...

Batteries are no longer just AAA batteries for your flashlights or remote controls. Batteries are BIG today. They are even replacing and disrupting power generation. Batteries are also making electric cars possible. Today's Lithium-ion batteries with its long life are giving new life to solar power, and creating amazing new project possibilities. The 100-year-old technology, electric cars are also...

Sun is the ultimate source of energy. Humanity has looked for energy and fossil fuels under the ground for way too long, but now the time has come that we look up. We all have the sun, and the ability to generate electricity from it, which is also getting cheaper every day. If we all use solar power, today's energy divide—the energy-poor and the energy-rich—among countries will come to an end. Now...

The electricity sector has not changed that much since Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light bulb. But it's changing now, thanks to our ability to generate electricity with solar power and store it in affordable batteries for use at night. Electric cars are taking the auto market by storm. Solar panels are mushrooming on rooftops and lakes. And solar is just the tip of the iceberg; we are...