16 Communicators Learn About Green Hydrogen and More at EJN Workshop on Renewable Energy in Chennai, India

On October 10, 2024 the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy reported that the country’s renewable energy capacity had crossed the 200 GW mark.

With India pledging to generate 500 GW through renewable sources by 2030, the big questions now are about the transmission and storage of the electricity being generated by solar and wind power. These issues receive relatively little media attention, so EJN’s media trainers decided to focus on them during a recent workshop held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, from October 24 – 26, as part of the Renewable Energy in India  project. 

Sixteen communicators from across India were selected to attend:

• Amitha Balachandra, independent journalist
• Arathi M R, Keraleeyam Magazine
• Bhakti G, Climate Group
• Dayashankar Shukla, independent journalist 
• Farhana Ahmed, The Assam Tribune
• Jennifer Kishan, independent journalist
• Jyotsna Richhariya, Ground Report
• Kaumudi Kashikar Gurjar, Press Insider
• Maharajan M, Dinamani
• Mukul Singh Chauhan, Jist News
• Prabhat Kumar, Down To Earth
• Rohin Kumar, MoJo Story
• Satish Malviya, independent journalist
• Sushen Jadhav, Sakal Media Group
• Syed Salman Haider, Doordarshan News 
• Udisha Srivastav, independent journalist

On the first day, the participants interacted with several experts to learn more about local energy markets. Pashupathi Gopalan of Fenice Energy spoke of the high excise duty on imported solar panels, and how the government could pave the way for further growth in the solar market by reducing these expenses. 

Martin Scherfler, Executive Director of Auroville Consulting, a firm which helps companies assess, quantify and reduce their carbon footprint, emphasized the importance of enabling policies to strengthen India’s growing RE sector, and ensure it develops without adverse impacts on livelihoods and the local environment. In Tamil Nadu, for instance, solar uptake stands at 33%, far behind the national average of 60%. He pointed out that the state’s high network charges (tariffs that consumers pay to the government to support smooth functioning of the grid) deter independent consumers to set up rooftop solar. 

Vishal Pandya, co-founder and Director at REConnect Energy, a startup that develops software to help companies improve energy efficiency, reiterated that the country needs to now turn its attention to transmission. A seasonal understanding of wind, and diurnal analysis of solar energy production, would help improve India’s national grid, he explained.

Shyam Raghupathy, CEO of Electric Mobility Division at Rajesh Exports, which develops batteries, spoke about the importance of energy storage for round-the-clock RE, noting that the electric vehicle market could only see growth if this was addressed quickly.

Later in the day, Jaya Shreedhar Senior Health Media Advisor of Internews’ Health Journalism Network talked about how communicators could report more effectively on the health impacts of climate change, as well as the health impacts of continued dependence on fossil fuels. Communicators could do well to emphasize the link between vector-borne diseases and climate change, and connect the dots between fossil fuel use and air pollution, she said.

The next day, Anson Sando of the IIT-Madras Research Park led a session on green hydrogen. Sando described the emerging market of green hydrogen, which has received a recent boost with the government’s Green Hydrogen Mission. Hydrogen is one of the simplest and most abundant elements, and it has long been used to produce electricity. However, the production of hydrogen by electrolysis of water has traditionally been powered by fossil fuels. Green hydrogen is produced when renewable energy is used to power the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen. 

Sando said that while this up-and-coming industry is receiving institutional support, it is important that scientific understanding now informs the adoption of green hydrogen in sectors like agriculture and infrastructure construction—where it is hard to abate emissions of greenhouse gases, He also told participants about other innovations, such as using desalinated seawater and water recycled from sewage treatment plants to effectively produce this energy without depleting the water table.

The field visit to the IIT-Madras Research Park (IIT-MRP) gave participants a chance to learn more about recent developments in battery storage and solar waste disposal. Professor Kaushal Jha, Chief Executive Officer at the Center for Excellence in Energy and Telecommunications at IIT-MRP, walked the participants around the laboratories and incubation center, where the institute supports entrepreneurs developing new RE products.  

“The work being done on renewable energy at IIT Madras Research Park is very impressive and I’m glad so many communicators had a chance to see it first-hand,” said Joydeep Gupta, EJN’s India Program Manager.

After the workshop, one of the participants produced a broadcast for the state-owned news television channel, DD News: 

Bringing in new tools for storytelling, Kartik Chandramouli, Senior Digital Editor at Mongabay India, conducted a session on mobile journalism during the workshop. Sweta Daga, independent journalist and project manager at Thibi, a data and design consultancy that recently partnered with EJN to train data journalists in India, led a session on how data can be used to tell stories about renewable energy, along with EJN’s Program Associate Manasi Pinto. 

How can a good video story be made by shooting videos on mobile?@KartikChandramouli explains the tricks of mobile journalism.Communicators’ Workshop on Renewable Energy in Chennai @earthjournalism pic.twitter.com/YijFMEjO5T

— SatishMalviya (@Satishvds) October 24, 2024

To wrap up, EJN’s Joydeep Gupta shared several resources which would help communicators tell more robust stories such as EJN’s Tipsheet on Covering India’s Net Zero Transition  and the India Climate and Energy Dashboard developed by the Indian government in partnership with Vasudha Foundation.

“I have no prior experience reporting on RE in my career, and I came to the workshop with only a basic understanding of the subject. The workshop was helpful in providing a solid foundation, and the sessions were thought-provoking. While I wouldn't say I grasped everything fully, I would estimate that I understood about 60% of the material,” said Arathi MR, workshop participant and reporter from Keraleeyam magazine. “Given my unfamiliarity with the topic and the technical aspects involved, I will need to follow up further to gain a deeper understanding,” she added.

Banner image: A group photo of participants / Credit: Manasi Pinto.