Solar power is the fastest growing part of the global energy industry. Inderpreet Wadhwa, CEO of Azure Power, one of the largest solar power producers in India, sat down with us to discuss why India is well positioned to capitalize on the trend.
Wadhwa emphasizes that over 200 million people in India do not have electricity. He says there is a lot of potential because solar radiation is available in most parts of the country, and India has over 300 days of sun. The fact that India is an emerging economy and has to build new infrastructure is another advantage, he says, because the country can "leapfrog" coal industry infrastructure.
For Azure Power, it is important to work closely with the government. Wadhwa says energy in India is highly regulated so they need favorable government policy. 90% of the company's contracts are with the government. With the price of solar much cheaper than energy consumed in many industries, Wadhwa says they are now doing more commercial contracts with industries such as the hotels.
Heila Technologies, a startup that develops hardware and software to integrate renewables and batteries on a microgrid, is helping to power the first clean energy microgrid for Auto Mercado, a top supermarket chain in Costa Rica. The plant will reduce 20 tons of CO2 emissions per year. Heila Technologies CEO Francisco Morocz joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
The U.S. has a million-ton problem: each year, hundreds of pounds of plastic waste are produced per person, and that leads to close to 2 million tons of that waste leaking into the environment. Eight million tons end up in the ocean, where it hinders marine life, damages ecosystems, and impacts industry. But in recent years, Congress has introduced measures including the Save our Seas act to try to mitigate the issue and turn our plastic problem around. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) joins Cheddar Climate to discuss why the U.S. is the top global polluter of plastic, what Congress is doing to try to fix the issue, and more.
Daniel Huppmann, researcher at International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, joins Cheddar Climate, where he explains how the global economy could be 2% bigger by 2100 if the world can hold global warming below 1.5°C.
While the World Health Organization strongly advises against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, national and local governments are moving to make inoculations compulsory. Cheddar News speaks with Dr. Joel Zinberg of the Competitive Enterprise Institute on the issue.
Cheddar breaks down the challenges of plastic recycling and what one company is doing to help offset the negative environmental impact of single-use plastics.
Earlier this year, JetBlue flew its inaugural flight into the United Kingdom. It was a game changer — not only did the airline enter the transatlantic market, but the plane that completed the flight was a single-aisle jet. For decades, flying the distance was synonymous with jumbo jets, but today narrow-body aircraft are now proving they are up for the task — and maybe even the best option. In this episode, Cheddar examines why airlines are betting on narrow-body aircraft.
Carlo and Baker discuss the sweeping new vaccine mandate in NYC that will target all private businesses. Plus, Trump's media venture gets its CEO and more.
Humans are scientifically the most successful species in the history of planet earth. And for this we can thank our opposable thumbs, proportionally large brains, and our upright posture. But for all our anatomical wonders, we still have some pretty major flaws.
