WRI India signs MoU with EMC-Kerala to achieve the state's energy efficiency goals
On 3 March 2022, WRI India (WRII) signed an MoU with the Energy Management Centre Kerala (EMC-K) with the aim of achieving state’s energy efficiency goals. EMC recently announced a state-wide program called “Oorjayan” to support Local Self Governments (LSGs) to improve energy efficiency within their jurisdictions. Being the lead implementation agency for the program, EMC-K will facilitate engagement with LSGIs and other relevant government agencies for benchmarking building energy performance and promote energy efficiency in buildings sector in Kerala. WRII with its strength in cross-cutting research-based action across regional, national, and international geographies will support EMC to benchmark energy performance of government buildings under this project. Over the years, WRII has been working with the Kerala state government and local governments for various initiatives to accelerate actions to promote clean energy and energy efficiency interventions. Through this partnership, the research organisation will facilitate capacity building exercises, provide trainings, generate awareness on benchmarking practices, and provide technical support to EMC-K.
The MoU was signed by Dr. O.P. Agarwal (CEO, WRI India) and Dr. Harikumar, (Director General, EMC-K). Bharath Jairaj, Director, Energy Program, WRII was also present at the online event and set the context of the event. It was attended by 11 participants on behalf of both the organisations which included Subhash Babu B V , Registrar, Dineshkumar A N., Joint Director and Johnson Daniel, Head, NMEEE and DSM division from EMC, and Sumedha Malaviya, Senior Manager, Energy Program and Dhilon Subramanian, Manager, Energy Program from WRI India.
Through this MoU, the partnership will facilitate assessing the energy performance of existing buildings by benchmarking them. This will help the building owners to compare their buildings' performance with the others, thus motivating them to undertake appropriate retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency of these existing buildings. This will provide an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the importance of building benchmarking beyond Kerala.
Speaking at the signing, Dr. Harikumar, Director, EMC-K said, “This MoU with WRI India will strengthen our efforts to accelerate the uptake of energy efficiency measures in buildings through deep research and analysis. We are hopeful that the research and policy expertise of WRI India, especially on benchmarking energy performance of buildings, will be beneficial for Kerala’s Oorjayan programme and help energy efficiency goals of the state.”
Dr. O.P. Agarwal, CEO, WRI India added “State-designated agencies play a significant role in mainstreaming energy efficiency in buildings. Energy Management Centre Kerala has always been a front runner in the country to encourage such initiatives. The partnership between WRI India and EMC Kerala will help in further scaling building efficiency efforts in Kerala and promote more climate resilient building stock. We are proud to be associated with EMC Kerala in this regard.”
With this collaboration, WRII and EMC-K plan to expand the scope of Oorjayan program across the state setting a benchmark on building efficiency. This partnership will also serve as a flagship to other states and cities of India.
About Energy Management Centre Kerala (EMC-K)
EMC-K is the state designated agency to co-ordinate, regulate and enforce the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act 2001 in Kerala. EMC has got a functional framework devoted to comprehensive and multi- disciplinary institutional objectives and orientation encompassing all aspects of energy, with a focus on energy- environment-development interactions. The guiding philosophy and school of thought of the Centre is "achieving sustainable development through enhancing total energy efficiency and application of renewable energy and environment friendly energy systems in all sectors of the economy.”
About the World Resource Institute, India (WRI I)
WRI India, an independent charity legally registered as the India Resources Trust, provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. Our work focuses on building sustainable and liveable cities and working towards a low carbon economy. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being. We are inspired by and associated with World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization with more than 400 experts and other staff around the world.
For media queries contact:
Kunal Shankar Senior Communications Manager, WRI India, Energy Programme Kunal.Shankar@wri.org (M) +91-98661-73803
Ahona Datta Gupta Manager, Communications, WRI India, Energy Programme Ahona.DattaGupta@wri.org (M) +91 – 98180-55447
