Building sustainable infrastructure with inclusive growth: Inderpreet Singh Wadhwa at TEDxLeh
## Speaker Context
* Speaker is giving a talk at a TEDx event in Ladakh.
* The speaker states that his work and life are "very blurred and it's all together."
## People
* Guruji: Mentioned by the speaker; the speaker was "very touched" by something he said regarding human life's need for spirituality and meditation.
* Reverend Guran: Asked the speaker a question about "how to get power in the evening."
* Stephanie: Mentioned in relation to a discussion point about "some level of moderation on consumption."
## Organizations
* Your Power: An independent power producer in India, focused solely on solar energy.
* Indian NGOs: Mentioned as doing "phenomenal work all over the country" in the context of helping children.
## Places
* Ladakh: Setting of the talk; the speaker states it is his "first trip to Ladakh."
* Punjab: Origin of the speaker; the speaker studied engineering there and was born there.
* Silicon Valley: Location where the speaker worked in the software sector and built software businesses.
* New Delhi: Location where the speaker was disturbed by looking at children begging at traffic lights.
* India: Country where the speaker wants to apply sustainable business models; specifically mentioned its rural areas, farflung areas, and the entire country for solar projects.
* Pakistan Border: Location of the village mentioned in the example, which is in the state of Punjab.
* Mumbai: City mentioned in comparison to the focus on rural areas.
* Lei: Specific region in India mentioned regarding solar radiation and potential for connection.
## Tools, Tech & Products
* Solar energy/Solar power: Primary focus of the speaker's work; described as a phenomenal resource.
* Hydro projects: Source of power mentioned, which are contrasted with solar energy in terms of contract variability.
* Thermal projects: Source of power mentioned, contrasted with solar energy due to variability in contracts.
* Equipment: Goods bought for the projects (general mention).
* Infrastructure: General term for development improvements in rural areas (e.g., roads, drainage).
## Concepts & Definitions
* Spirituality/Meditation: Concepts that speaker feels are necessary for human life to be complete, besides compassion.
* Compassion: Ability to touch the lives of others, described as essential for a complete human life.
* Sustainable business model: The model the speaker aims to create, contrasting with NGO work.
* Inclusive growth: A key concept used by the speaker, involving understanding and meeting the needs of all stakeholders (customers, communities, investors, suppliers).
* Solar radiation: Described as one of the best in the world in Ladakh.
## Numbers & Data
* 10 years: Duration the speaker lived in California.
* 2 to 3 hours: Amount of power provided by a hydral project to the initial community.
* 300 km: Distance from which the hydral project power reaches the tail end of the grid.
* 10 acres: Amount of land required for the solar project given to the community.
* 5 to 6,000 rupees: Estimated annual income from farming per acre.
* 20,000 rupees: Amount offered per acre per year to the community.
* 3 years: Duration of cash payment offered up front to the community.
* 2,000 jobs: Number of jobs created by the project finished in March.
* 110 megawatt: Amount of solar portfolio Your Power currently has.
* Five different states: States where the operational solar projects are located (Punjab, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh).
* 25 years: Fixed contract period for selling solar energy.
* 18 rupees: Price at which power was first sold in an earlier project.
* 5%: Rate of efficiency/cost improvement predicted for solar technology annually (the speaker's theory).
* 2009: Year when the speaker raised money and started the company.
* 10 Rupees: Price of diesel per unit mentioned in 2009 comparison.
* 7 rupees: Price of grid power mentioned in 2009 comparison.
* 4 rupees: Price of large coal plant power per kWh mentioned in 2009 comparison.
* 14 rupees: Price at which the speaker started selling power in 2011.
* 11: Price diesel went to in 2011.
* 8: Commercial tariff mentioned in 2011.
* 8 rupees: Price the speaker started selling at in 2012.
* 11: Price diesel was in in 2012.
* 25%: Percentage by which New Delhi increased its tariff of great power in 2013.
* 7 rupees: Price the speaker was selling at in 2013.
* 100 crores: Amount of revenue achieved this year (as of the talk).
* 20 million: Amount of revenues this year (implied to be the same metric as 100 crores for context).
* 1,000 crores: Amount invested by the speaker's company.
## Claims & Theses
* Human life is incomplete without spirituality and meditation.
* Human life is also incomplete without Compassion or the ability to touch the lives of others.
* To be completely human, one must live in communities and "touch as many lives as we can in those communities."
* The speaker's initial inspiration for action came from seeing children at every stoplight in New Delhi asking for money or food.
* The speaker asserts that the reason children are on the streets is lack of employment in rural communities where their families are from.
* The speaker claims that creating a sustainable business opportunity is a better approach than an NGO for impacting the lives of people.
* The speaker claims that the fixed price for 25 years for solar energy is unique ("There is no other energy provider on the planet that can give you a fixed price for 25 years").
* The speaker claims that energy from the sun is a phenomenal resource because "the sun's going to shine every day and no one's charging us for the sun to come up every morning."
* The speaker claims that infrastructure projects in India often fail because companies are too focused on maximizing financial returns and do not keep local communities in mind.
* The speaker claims that the "Morrillo's Law" analogue for solar technology is that it will become 5% more efficient and 5% cheaper every year.
* The speaker claims that by 2013, the speaker's profitability was surpassing competitors despite tariff changes because the "Morrillo's Law theory is still applying."
* The speaker claims that his company is not just a project but a "real money real investors real products real plants."
* The speaker claims he can win any energy company bid purely on price by 2017.
* The speaker claims that connecting villages using micro-transmission infrastructure with solar and hydro is a viable model.
## Mechanisms & Processes
* The process for achieving "complete humanity" involves living in communities and actively touching the lives of others.
* The speaker's business model involves first understanding all stakeholders in a project (customers, communities, investors, suppliers) before starting.
* The solar energy model contrasts with traditional energy sources because the price of sun is not subject to inflation or market changes, unlike coal or gas tariffs.
* The development process in a village starts with the company giving land compensation (20,000 rupees/acre/year) significantly higher than local farming income, plus upfront cash for community improvement.
* The improved power supply involves providing 8 hours of uninterrupted power and improving power quality, moving from intermittent grid power.
* The theoretical mechanism for solar price reduction is an annual 5% increase in efficiency and 5% decrease in cost.
* The proposed energy pattern for Ladakh involves using solar for most daytime load, with hydro supplementing in the evening, creating a resilient, decentralized micro-transmission system.
## Timeline & Events
* Before the talk: Speaker was making notes, inspired by Guruji's comments.
* Childhood/Early Life: Speaker moved from Punjab, studied engineering, and worked in Silicon Valley.
* Initial settlement in the US: Lived in a one-bedroom apartment, then a three-room single-family home, then two homes, then a mansion (over 10 years).
* Trip to New Delhi: Speaker was disturbed by children begging at every stoplight.
* Starting the business: Speaker spent time researching and thinking about the cause of child begging, leading to the realization that employment in rural areas was lacking.
* 2009: Speaker could buy diesel at 10 Rupees a unit, grid power at 7 rupees, and coal power at 4 rupees/kWh.
* 2011: Speaker started selling power at 14 rupees/unit; diesel was at 11; commercial tariff at 8.
* 2012: Speaker started selling at 8 rupees; diesel was at 11.
* 2013: New Delhi increased its tariff of great power by 25% due to current account deficit; speaker sold at 7 rupees.
* 2013 - Present: The period described as a "phenomenal ride."
* This year: Revenue of 100 crores was achieved; investment of 1,000 crores was made.
* By 2017: Speaker expects to be able to bid for UMP projects and win on price.
## Examples & Cases
* Speaker's personal housing history: Moving from two suitcases into a one-bedroom apartment $\rightarrow$ buying a three-room single-family home $\rightarrow$ buying two homes $\rightarrow$ buying a mansion while in California.
* Incident in New Delhi: Seeing many little kids at every stoplight asking for money or food, which bothered the speaker.
* Example of community intervention (Aan village): The village received only 2 to 3 hours of poor quality/intermittent power from a hydral project 300 km away.
* Intervention at Aan: Providing 8 hours of uninterrupted power from a 2 Mega solar plant.
* Compensation example: Offering 20,000 rupees an acre per year (four times local farming income) plus 3 years' cash up front.
* Job creation: Finishing a project in March created 2,000 jobs in rural India.
* Movie inspiration: The film *Inconvenient Truth* profoundly impacted the speaker.
* Climate impact examples: Preventing events like Sandy, the Uttarakhand storm, or New Orleans.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
* Focus on Financial Returns vs. Community Needs: Infrastructure companies are often too focused on maximizing profit (e.g., not paying market price for land) and neglect community interest.
* Current Power Supply vs. Solar Solution: Intermittent grid power (2-3 hours, poor voltage/frequency) vs. 8 hours of uninterrupted, quality power from a solar plant.
* Subsidy Dependence vs. Pure Economics: Current tariffs rely on subsidies/tariffs (like diesel/coal) which cannot continue forever vs. solar being a pure economic decision with no subsidies or feeding tariffs.
* Old Lifestyle vs. Minimalist Survival: Living with a mansion/multiple cars vs. realizing that only essentials like a camel bed, water, tissue roll, and energy bar are needed for survival.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
* The speaker is very modest about the achievements so far ("I'm being very modest from here on a 5% reduction on my tariff").
* The speaker clarifies that the numbers provided are "selling price," not his costs.
* The speaker notes that he is "not asking you to give up your life for... 10 years."
* The speaker admits he has "zero background in infrastructure" and "I've never worked in India before."
## Methodology
* Research and Thinking: Speaker spent time "researching and thinking about why these kids are on the street."
* Stakeholder Analysis: The process of identifying and understanding the needs of all parties involved in a project (communities, investors, suppliers, etc.).
* Economic Modeling: Using projections of declining solar costs (5% annual improvement) against volatile fossil fuel/grid tariffs to predict future profitability.
## References Cited
* TEDx (The event where the talk is given).
* Guruji's teachings (on spirituality and meditation).
* *Inconvenient Truth* (film that profoundly impacted the speaker).
* Renewable Energy Watch Magazine (Recognized the work done in the area).
## Conclusions & Recommendations
* The primary actionable recommendation is that the audience can all "make a real impact to climate change" by making small changes (turning off lights, carpooling, cycling, etc.).
* For Ladakh specifically: The focus should be on building micro-transmission infrastructure using solar, using hydro to displace energy consumption patterns, rather than just giving lamps or lanterns.
* The speaker states that this is "all I had to had to share."
## Implications & Consequences
* If the pattern of government over-subsidizing diesel/coal continues, it will lead to bankruptcies (a balance sheet issue).
* If India ignores the need for sustainable models, it risks energy insecurity and social issues (like child begging).
* Successfully implementing the solar model implies a move away from reliance on variable and expensive legacy energy sources.
* For Ladakh, successful development implies connecting hamlets directly with power rather than relying on isolated, small-scale solutions.
## Open Questions
* What are the tariffs in Ladakh today?
* What specific mechanisms or investments are needed to establish the first solar farms in the best solar radiation zones of Ladakh?
## Verbatim Moments
* "I can't draw the line between my my work and life I think it's very blurred and it's all together."
* "I think it's also incomplete without Compassion or the ability to touch the lives of others."
* "I said what I'm doing is not sustainable so what can I do to help these children?"
* "There is no other energy provider on the planet that can give you a fixed price for 25 years."
* "I must not pay market price of land I must not pay market price for everything how much can I squeeze from the other counterparty that I'm working with."
* "we do 2 Mega solar plant we give you 8 hours of uninterrupted power supply and we improve the quality of the power that you're getting."
* "this is a sustainable infrastructure development with inclusive growth which I have not seen any other company focus on in India."
* "we don't need 20 rooms in the house we really don't need all the things we have we don't need three cars one car is good enough if you must or share."
* "it's just a matter of years [to build the grid connection]."