A very strong renewable energy delegation from Japan is now visiting India to explore opportunities for partnership with Indian companies in the renewable energy sector. Smart grids, waste to energy and storage solutions clearly emerged as areas where both Japan and India could explore partnerships at the 'Japan India Public Private Round Table on Renewable Energy' organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) under the aegis of Japan-India Energy Dialogue in New Delhi.

Delivering the inaugural address at the roundtable, Dr Satish B Agnihotri, Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India said, "Storage solutions is amongst the key renewable energy technologies that need to be evaluated. Within storage solutions, it is important to look at hybridization, given the intermittent nature of solar and wind power. Hybridization increases the combined capacity utilization factor thereby improving the financial viability. India also needs to leverage the Japanese experience in smart grid deployment and efficient appliances."

Stressing on the importance of technology, Mr Takeshi Yagi, Ambassador of Japan, said, "Expansion of technology innovation is extremely important in the renewable energy field. With both Japan and India witnessing a sharp increase in energy imports, renewable energy is a key component of the energy mix. There is a need to harness the huge potential of renewable energy through the development of new technologies and their application to society. It is also important to utilize the private sector's know how in the areas of waste to energy, storage batteries and smart grids."

Highlighting some key areas that could be of interest for Indo-Japanese collaboration Mr Alok Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India said, "New areas of co-operation between India and Japan could be in developing cutting edge technologies. Another opportunity is in the area of financing at an affordable cost."

Key Japanese companies accompanying the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI, Japan) include, Mitsui Engineering and Ship Building (Solar Power), NGK Insulators (storage solutions), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (smart Grids), Hitachi Zosen Corporation (waste to energy).