The Renewable Energy India (REI) E-Expo, South Asia’s first virtual renewable energy event by Informa Markets in India (formerly UBM India) concluded on a successful note 9th June 2020. The one-day virtual expo witnessed a footfall of 3860 attendees from71 countries. The global threat currently posed by COVID-19 and the subsequent stringent safety measures including travel restrictions, has impacted the exhibitions industry. This virtual expo by Renewable Energy India was crafted to consistently meet the needs of the renewable energy sector and enable professionals to sustain their critical business conversations and engagement and provide them with feasible solutions at a time when physical transactions are on a hold. Supported by Indian Biogas Association as Supporting Association and Cleantech Business Club as Visionary Partner, REI E-Expo also attracted support from Indo German Energy Forum – SO & Indo German Chamber of Commerce and brought together renowned brands, consultants, business experts and key Government officials pertaining to the sector under a common virtual platform. Speaking at the debut of REI’s virtual expo, Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India said: “The Covid-19 situation worldwide has made us rethink situations, adapt, innovate and move forward. While India continues with its Lockdown 5.0 version, it is witnessing the unlock 1.0. Currently, we are leveraging effective technologies available at our disposal as a global giant to ensure business stability and build expertise to mitigate the challenges brought about by COVID-19.”
The inauguration witnessed a visionary address given by Charlie Gay, Founder of Greenstar Foundation; Former Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office; Visionary Advisor at CleanTech Business Club. Gay, also known as Dr Solar and a veteran with over 45 years’ experience in renewable energy emphasized that “India has grown to support local manufacturing because the market is large enough to support it. The country has great opportunities in the cleantech decade.” Hans Josef Fell, President of the Energy Watch Group, delivered the Keynote Address.
Chaired by Shri Manu Srivastava, IAS, Ex-Principal Secretary, New & Renewable Energy Department, Madhya Pradesh and moderated by Justin Wu, Managing Director and Head of AsiaPacific, BloombergNEF, the inaugural session was titled “Bringing future into focus: Fire chat with Global Leaders.” The panellists of this session were leaders in the global renewable energy space such as Jinko Solar, AVAADA Group, Hero Future Energies, LONGi Solar, Premier Energies Limited, Vikram Solar, and Indo-German Energy Forum SO. The intriguing and engaging session emphasized on India’s potential to be self-reliant and independent. The panel discussed about policy advocacy that needs to happen which helped give the RE sector the push it needed in the last many years. Most panelists acknowledged the fact that the RE industry in India had come a long way over the last five to seven years, though it is now suffering from a slowdown due to COVID-19 pandemic and lack of clarity about the govt’s relief packages. The consensus call was that the government must treat the RE sector with care, address the uncertainties, and help must be provided when it’s the most required.
