WISE’s report ‘Enabling a Circular Economy for E-waste in Pune City’, is expected to pave the way for more informed decisions by policy-makers and e-waste chain participants, leading to development of a circular economy for e-waste in Pune city. Supported by the US Consulate General, Mumbai, and monitored and evaluated by The Ohio State University, the exercise was a huge participatory effort involving key players and volunteers from the waste community in Pune. The final report received wide acceptability among city officials and stakeholders, and was formally submitted to the Pune Municipal Corporation for further action.

Our recent work in energy efficiency has resulted in comprehensive review of the energy efficiency policy landscape in India along with provision of suitable recommendations, development of comprehensive policy and implementation guidelines for the Energy Management Centre (state designated agency) of Kerala, and development of a National Action Plan (NAP) for efficient use of solar water heating systems for the Government of Bhutan.

A two-year intensive study supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on solar O&M has resulted in the development of the first ever ‘Best Practices Handbook on Performance Evaluation, Operation and Maintenance of Solar PV Plants’. The Handbook provides hands-on solutions and customized information to maximize overall performance of solar systems, thus aiding in maximizing long-term performance and revenues, besides seeking to reduce the demand for thermal power and bring down carbon emissions.

As part of the consortium on facilitating offshore wind in India (FOWIND), WISE was responsible for coordinating efforts to develop offshore wind in the state of Gujarat. WISE carried out the necessary studies and surveys and selected and installed the LIDAR (light detection and ranging) system for measuring offshore wind speeds in the Gulf of Cambay in 2017. The LIDAR readings are expected to provide valuable guidance for the installation of the first offshore wind power project in India.

Built human resource capacities of senior policy makers from the countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman and Sudan in West Africa, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA); enhanced skills and knowledge of around 10,000+ professionals from the renewable energy sector and the Indian government, and built awareness among 400 journalists across the country (way back in 2005) through trainings and conferences, and strengthened institutional capacities of eleven state nodal agencies in grid-connected and decentralized electricity generation.