Winds of Change: Issue 38
In this week's issue, we look at Petronas' green plans for India, check in on government subsidies, and check in on a delayed monsoon.
Welcome to Winds of Change, a weekly newsletter that collates my work as I chase the winds that bring us the monsoon and drive our turbines.
This week was a tough one. I was worried about a family member's health, while at the same time contemplating a major life decision. But a decision had to be made.
With a lot of sadness in my hart, I put in my papers at ET this week. A new and exciting but non-journalism opportunity was offered to me, and I think it's the right time in my life to make the plunge. But a collateral damage of this move will be that I will have to end Winds of Change as well. This is the beginning of the end, I'm afraid. Three more issues after this.
Modi’s day out (to Washington DC)
It's telling that PM Narendra Modi's first trip abroad in a post-pandemic world is to the United States. While he's often been criticised for all his foreign trips that bring in little returns (at least investment-wise), Modi has done a good job of being friends with a lot of foreign officials.
This trip is crucial as it is the first time ever Joe Biden and Modi will meet in person. In this episode, we dissect why such trips are important, and what's on the discussion board. Some topics include tariffs, national security, covid-19, and climate change.
Petronas wants to invest in India
But they wouldn't tell me exactly how much.
Petronas, which is owned and operated by the Malaysian government, is an oil and gas giant. It exploits Malaysia's rich reserves handily, and makes good money from it.
But even Petronas sees the writing on the wall. It has a new energy department, which looks at renewable avenues across south east Asia. I spoke to the new energy department's head, to find out about their future plans.
Earlier this year, Petronas was in the talks with the Tata group, and was going to invest nearly $2 billion into a fund that would fund Tata's renewable energy projects. The talks were on for a year, but stumbled at the finishing line. With no clear reason, the deal fell through.
Unfortunately, Petronas is wary of ambitious targets in the sector. They aim to have their entire renewable portfolio reach only 3 GW by 2025, a paltry target compared to the potential that they could have. A third of this entire capacity has already been achieved in India, and a “substantial” portion of the 3 GW target will be met here itself, Petronas said.
However, they wouldn't commit how much is that exact number, or what are the investment figures. But they won't restrict themselves to wind and solar; hydrogen and electric vehicles are on the cards as well.
Tata raises monies
Despite the deal with Petronas falling through, Tatas continue to march ahead.
My colleague (my boss, really) Arijit Barman and I broke a story this week that the Tatas are looking to raise $750 million for — you guessed it, their renewables business.
Tata Power Renewables will use this money to fund projects and grow their footprint in India. They have already expanded their manufacturing capacity; further expansions are on the cards as well.
It's an exciting time to be associated with the Tata brand. While they are scaling up their digital — and have acquired e-grocer BigBasket and e-pharmacy 1mg, and fitness services app cult.fit to kick things off, they have also applied to buy the struggling Air India from the government. Ah, to be a fly on the wall at Bombay House!
Everyone wants a piece of the pie
Earlier this year, the government announced production-linked incentive schemes to increase India's manufacturing prowess. Among those schemes was one for solar modules, which had a total kitty of ₹4,500 crore.
This week, the final bids came in. It seems like everyone and their parent companies Kobe'd a bid. While heavyweights such as Reliance, Adani, Tata, and Jindal were expected to apply, companies such as Coal India Limited and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) are surprising names in the list.
I mean, come on. Coal India Limited. Doesn't sustainable power go against their core principles or something?
The government will choose only 10 GW of capacity, while over 54 GW of bids have been received. It will be interesting to see if the other companies continue to venture into the field even if they don't get the government's incentives.
Now, Megha doesn't wanna leave India
Monsoon's been tumultuous this year, to say the least. Blistering June, paltry July, ghastly August, and now, a vigorous September.
When September started, India was staring at a drought year, with a 9% deficit. Over the following three weeks, intense rainfall across the country — all of the 29 subdivisions as devised by the weather bureau have seen some rainfall — has bridged the gap to just 2% below normal. That's a rapid pace.
It's also worrying. Unequal distribution of rainfall, both in the context of time and area, throws off farming schedules. While farmers can see a silver lining in September, dry July and Augusts were cause for immense stress. Such unpredictable patterns can solely be attributed to climate change, and needs to be studied further.
The resurgence in September has caused a delay in the withdrawal of monsoon winds from the country. A three-week delay from its original date of September 17 is all but confirmed.
PS: How are you guys not tired of the corny Megha headlines already?
That's all for this week's issue. Thank you for reading! This issue was written by me, Shashwat Mohanty, and the artwork was produced by Devika Menon for Winds of Change.
I hope you learnt something new. Please feel free to reply to me about any errors or typos you spotted, any clarifications, and most importantly, any feedback. Till next Sunday!