Week 6: Making Bengaluru Energy Independent

Date: 26th April 2021, Monday, 6:00 PM India on Zoom

Pls note: Registration is not required if you have already enrolled for the webinar series.

Overview

As India aims to transition away from fossil fuels with ambitious plans to invest in renewable energy, especially in solar power, massive tracts of farmland and commons are being converted into mega solar parks. Would it be possible to imagine a metropolis that can produce its own energy, at low cost, through decentralized systems such as ‘white roofing’ (rooftop solar) and ‘pedal power’, thus saving precious farmland and commons elsewhere to secure present and future generations? Can the city revamp its built environment, turn to open architecture, and net-zero energy buildings, so energy dependency is massively reduced? Can the energy so freed up make energy accessible for all?

Speaker Profiles

Mr. M. B. Rajesh Gowda, IAS, Managing Director, BESCOM

Mr. Rajesh Gowda is the current Managing Director of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company. He has a B.E. in Civil Engineering from Dayanand Sagar College, Bengaluru. His previously held positions include Assistant Commissioner, Doddaballapur; Land Acquisition Office, Bangalore Development Authority; Additional Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore Rural District; Managing Director, Karnataka State Warehousing Corporation; Secretary, Karnataka Housing Board; Director, Department of Agricultural Marketing and Managing Director, Karnataka State Agricultural Marketing Board 

Mr. Nagesh Hegde, Former Senior Journalist, Prajavani

Mr. Nagesh Hegde is an Indian author, journalist, environmentalist, publisher, and professor who has written over 40 books on science and the environment. At present, he is a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. He holds an M.Sc. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and an M.Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He has formerly worked with Prajavani, a leading Kannada daily as a journalist. Mr. Hegde has won many literary and environmental awards including the “Outstanding Environmental Journalist” award by the PRSI (Public Relations Society of India) and the Karnataka Rajyotsava award.

Dr. Tejal Kanitkar, Associate Professor, NIAS, Bengaluru

Dr. Tejal Kanitkar is an Associate Professor in the Energy Environment Program of the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. She is a mechanical engineer by training and her research interests lie in the areas of energy, development, and climate policy. She has worked on trying to integrate perspectives from the natural sciences, engineering, and the social sciences to understand the interconnected aspects of energy production and access, scientific and technological advancement in this sector, and policy shifts and instruments, in terms of their importance for ensuring the development and economic wellbeing of people, especially in the era of acute environmental crises such as climate change. 

Mr. Chockalingam, Mentor, Gram Seva Sangh, Bengaluru

Mr. Chockalingam is a mentor at Gram Seva Sangh. He is also an entrepreneur living off the grid for the past 15 years. He is actively pursuing self-sufficiency at his home and neighborhood to help communities practice the same and lead a nature-friendly lifestyle.