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.
Jill and Carlo cover the news out of Facebook's latest earnings, Tesla's monumental day, Dave Chappelle addresses controversy and the tragedy of the climate emergency.
The UN's World Meteorological Organization reported that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit record levels in 2020, despite coronavirus-related lockdowns. With the COP26 international meeting on climate change less than a week away, Risk and behavioral scientist Dr. Sweta Chakraborty joined Cheddar to break down the "code red for humanity" the report represents and what actual commitments must be made to prevent significant global temperature increases.
The United Nations COP26 climate talks are scheduled for October 31 to November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. Heads of state will be joined by private sector leaders to once again discuss the shrinking window of time left to take action against global temperature rise. Barbara Humpton, CEO of focused technology company Siemens U.S., is also attending and spoke to Cheddar about what she hopes to see during the conference for both the public and private spheres. "What we are really urging is that there are large commitments made in Glasgow and that we really commit to this next decade of action," she said.
Voyager, Nanoracks, and Lockheed Martin are all teaming up to develop the first-ever free-flying commercial space station with room for a crew of four astronauts. The private companies are joining forces as part of NASA’s greater mission to retire the International Space Station by the year 2030. The low-earth orbit space station will be called "Starlab," and is planned to achieve operational capability by 2027. Lisa Callahan, Vice President and General Manager of Commercial Civil Space at Lockheed Martin, and Matthew J. Kuta, President and Chief Operating Officer of Voyager Space, joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell.
Jill and Carlo cover the latest developments in the Alec Baldwin prop gun shooting, when vaccines for kids as young as 5 should be approved, new reporting on Facebook and more.
Middle school students from across the country battled it out for a chance at being crowned 'America's Top Scientist.' Each applicant had to submit a video to compete in the '3M Young Scientist Challenge' and describe a unique solution to an everyday problem for the chance to win $25,000. 10 finalists were chosen and after a two-day virtual competition, one walked away with the title. 14-year-old Sarah Park won the award, she joins Cheddar News to talk about her invention Spark Care+.
NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci has stated that recipients of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine should have gotten two doses, to begin with. An FDA panel had recently recommended that J&J boosters be made available for everyone who received the single dose.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is delaying its launch date for commercial space flights to Q4 of 2022 following a rescheduled test flight. Shares for the aerospace company fell on the news.
The NIH released findings of a study that say recipients of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine may benefit from getting Pfizer or Moderna boosters as the antibody levels from those shots were seen as more robust than from a Johnson & Johnson booster.
