Background

The Coimbatore District in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India is the site of an energy intensive cluster of more than 600 small-scale grey iron metal foundries, which consume 180,000 tons of coke and 600 million kWh of electricity a year.  There is already a wider multi-agency project to facilitate general business development in the Coimbatore cluster, but energy efficiency investments do not happen because there is little awareness of the available solutions on all sides, and a lack of local EE service providers.

Purpose

To accelerate the adoption of cleaner and more energy efficient technology in the Coimbatore metal-casting cluster by building capacities on both supply and demand sides with training for customers and service providers, and dialogue with government and financial institutions.

Main Activities

• Train local service providers in  implementing energy efficient technologies; ones suited to scaling up for wider adoption
• Initiate a policy dialogue with government and financial institutions to provide inputs and facilitate in evolving  financial mechanisms such as a risk guarantee fund for energy efficiency investments
• Implement three energy efficiency technology projects with entrepreneurs
• Incorporate the project outputs into a knowledge management platform implemented via the industry association websites
• Organise stakeholder consultation on existing barriers and policy framework for energy efficiency in the SME sector.
• Provide output of these local level interactions to the state and national policy making institutions

Expected Impact

• Improved awareness of energy efficiency solutions in the sector
• Strengthened local supply side delivery systems and an increasing demand for the new technology
• Strong uptake of new technology thanks to innovative financing model
• Creation of a model for replication in other SME sectors in India and other developing nations.