Lotus Global Head Brand Ambassador "Mo" Matthews, CEO Anthony Vippond and CFO Ian McBain visiting IndiaIn India there are still millions of homes that either do not have access to an electricity grid or cannot afford to be connected. Even for those who are connected, there is often the significant issue of reliability of around the clock supply. Often power is available during the day but goes off just as people are sitting down for dinner. There may also be potential problems with the quality and safety of many of the installations that have been rapidly carried out in an imperfectly-regulated environment.
The availability of reliable electricity around the clock can have a transformative effect on the lives of rural residents. As an example, it will permit the expansion of manufacturing enterprises into areas where there are currently very limited employment options. This will assist people to develop skills which will enable them to transition out of peasant life into the modern economy. Of even greater importance in this regard is having regular access to the internet.
Clearly, India has an urgent need to upgrade the quality and reliability of its generation and distribution of electricity while at the same time addressing pollution problems by shifting to clean renewable energy sources. Recognising this, the Indian Government has set a target of achieving 175 gigawatts (175,000MW) of PV solar energy supply by the year 2022. This will be a massive undertaking in which Lotus Energy is particularly well-placed to assist, particularly in India’s rural areas.
Lotus Energy’s business model was developed and implemented by the principals of Torus Group Electrical Pty Ltd which has had 28 years of experience in PV solar technology in Australia and India; designing and installing solar farms, commercial and residential solar arrays and clean, renewable energy applications. In every installation it has carried out in India, Torus Group has adhered to the regulations and standards which are rigidly enforced in Australia, whose electrical and PV solar standards are recognised as among the highest worldwide.
In Australia, Lotus Energy is currently rolling out and will be operating a series of ‘optimised community grids’ which typically consist of a groundmount solar farm in the size range of 10MW to 50MW, supplemented by rooftop solar arrays on commercial buildings and houses together with associated battery storage. These community grids utilise advanced control technology to supply the entire power needs of a particular town or district. There are many locations in rural areas of India where similar sized projects would be ideal.
In India Lotus Energy will continue to engage Torus Group as its principal contractor, ensuring the continuation of its policy of training local PV solar personnel (electricians and PV solar installers) to Australian electrical and labour standards. Its Employment Policy requires equality of employment and training for all genders, castes and creeds, and positive encouragement of women in its workforce.
As an equally important element of its business strategy, Lotus Energy is setting up a Global Energy Transfer Network which will have a substantial impact on the availability of cheap energy throughout India. It will enable the utilisation of excess energy via peer-to-peer trading and distribution to residential, industrial and commercial energy users at a fraction of the prices currently charged by the giant power companies. The system is based on advanced blockchain and distributed ledger technology.
Lotus Energy has a unique business model. We operate a community-based enterprise which will be operating globally. We want to give people in our communities worldwide who buy, sell or exchange clean energy through Lotus Energy Co-operative the opportunity to share in its ownership and derive real profits from tangible assets yielding sustainable cash flows. That is why we encourage Indian citizens to become members of our Co-operative by investing - in large or small amounts - in Lotus Energy {LOT} security tokens, which will be traded on major international crypto exchanges.
In order to encourage a very wide membership of the Co-operative we have recruited an international team of Brand Ambassadors, consisting of high profile and highly respected personalities. Included among them are former Australian Test cricketers Greg “Mo” Matthews and Tom Moody, together with England Cricket Captains David Gower and Adam Hollioake.
“Mo” Matthews, co-founder of Lotus Energy and its Global Head Brand Ambassador, said, “Tom, David, Adam and I are excited by the opportunity to play some small role in helping this great cricketing nation unlock its economic and human potential. A side benefit of having reliable electricity available to every home in each of India’s 600,000 villages is that every kid will have the opportunity to watch the sport we all love.”
Matthews revealed that a personal motivation for backing this initiative was that “it will give me even more excuse to keep coming back to the country where I am always treated as family.”
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