Starting Block: Solar startups solving the global energy crisis

Global Business

Starting Block: Solar start-ups solving the global energy crisis

As demand for global energy continues to skyrocket, many experts believe the world is facing an energy crisis. The International Energy Agency estimates that $48 trillion of investment will be needed between now and 2035 to ensure the world has enough energy to meet the demands of rapid population growth. One U.S. company is on a mission to help solve the energy crisis and it’s doing so one light at a time. CCTV’s Shraysi Tandon reports.

Baldev Duggal came to New York from India over 50 years ago with $200 in one pocket and his dreams in another. After making a name for himself by creating Duggal Visual Solutions – one of the largest visual production houses in the U.S.  – he’s now started a company devoted to solving the global electricity crisis.

Inspired by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore’s documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ Duggal formed Lumi Solair-a company that specializes in off-grid hybrid solar and wind streetlights. With around 160 streetlights across the U.S., Lumi Solair won the Environmental Protection Agency Award last year for being the only operational streetlights during Superstorm Sandy in Atlantic City.

Lumi Solair has projects all over the world-illuminating global communities using clean technology. Lumi Solair is also working on projects across Latin America and Africa-and is negotiating deals in Indonesia and the Middle East.

According to The Climate Group – an non-profit think tank devoted to a “prosperous, low carbon future” – 1.2 billion people globally have no access to electricity, leaving many communities without light or reliant on dirty fuels such as a kerosene and diesel. With potential demand of that magnitude, many investors have flocked to off-grid solar.

Lumi Solair says the technology it uses sets it apart from its competitors. Reliability matters, and price points are important, too. As Lumi Solair’s business expands, so are Duggal’s ambitions.

Starting Block: solar start-ups solving the global energy crisis

As demand for global energy continues to skyrocket, many experts believe the world is facing an energy crisis. The International Energy Agency estimates that $48 trillion of investment will be needed between now and 2035 to ensure the world has enough energy to meet the demands of rapid population growth. One U.S. company is on a mission to help solve the energy crisis and it's doing so one light at a time. CCTV's Shraysi Tandon reports.

Recent data shows China, the US , Brazil, Canada and Germany were the top countries for installed renewable power capacity. China topped the list, with its renewable energy outpacing fossil fuel and nuclear capacity for the first time last year. For an in-depth look at the industry, we welcome Jennifer Turner. Director of the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center.