India

We Need a New Approach to Cooling

The world’s first air conditioner was developed in 1902 to remove humidity from a building. Willis Carrier’s invention, that enabled the precise control of temperature and humidity, became the fundamental building block for modern air conditioning, evolving through the 1920s into air conditioners to provide cooling to the built environment.

Improving Reliability for Underserved Communities

Innovation in utility business models is more important than ever as underserved rural customers increasingly demand clean, affordable, and reliable electricity service. In one Nigerian community, a new model for optimizing rural supply can provide valuable insights for communities around the globe. In particular, power sector similarities in growing global…

Solutions for India’s Cooling Quandary

Last month consumers across India received a jolt when they were delivered their electricity bills. The combined effects of stay-at-home measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the sweltering heat of the Indian summer, and increased usage of energy intensive appliances such as air conditioners resulted in electricity bills being up to ten times higher than normal.

A Blue-Sky Vision: Clean Energy and Mobility in India’s Recovery

This article was co-authored by Jagabanta Ningthoujam​. We at Rocky Mountain Institute have been working in India for the past five years, supporting government and business leaders with the country’s energy transition. Yet a few of us have just started to call Delhi our home. Over the past year we…

Staying Connected when Everything Is Forcing Us Apart

The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has swiftly changed the world in which we live by drastically altering how we work and where we socialize. In just a few short weeks, it has transformed complex social systems, which were based on physical proximity and interaction, to ones based on remote…