The evolution of an energy analyst: some personal reflections

Abstract

The evolution from an electrochemist was motivated by a growing conviction that Indian science and technology should be reoriented. A cell was created in the Indian Institute of Science in 1974 to initiate and promote work of rural relevance as a weapon against poverty. Surveys led to a detailed empirical study of energy consumption patterns in villages and to the design and construction of rural energy centers. The lessons from this village work are described. The principal outcome of the collaboration with J. Goldemberg (Brazil), T.B. Johansson (Sweden), and R.H. Williams (United States) was the book Energy for a Sustainable World that contributed significantly to the new paradigm for energy. The application of this paradigm resulted in a detailed electricity demand scenario for the South Indian state of Karnataka. Following mandatory retirement from the Indian Institute of Science, the International Energy Initiative (IEI) was set up in 1991 as a Southern-conceived, Southern-led, Southern-located South-North partnership. Persisting personal concerns about the ethical implications of science resurfaced through opposition to India's nuclear tests in 1998 and a visit to the concentration camps at Auschwitz. The associated human dimensions of energy were emphasized in the acceptance speech at Göteborg of the Volvo Environment Prize 2000. The penultimate endgame involved retirement.