Did you know that in the UK we are likely to be 25 GW short of energy by 2025? That’s equivalent to 25 nuclear power stations. In India the situation is worse. Their current supply is 150 GW and they are short by about 15% causing power cuts. By 2020 they will need a further 158 GW equivalent to 111 nuclear power stations. Most of India’s coal comes from Australia and Indonesia and they are now decreasing their exports because of the need to secure supplies for their own needs. These predictions came out in a recent presentation by the World Institute of Energy, who advise the Indian Government on energy policy and regulation. Many of the communities in India that we work with are already marginalised, some do not have access to electricity and the prospect ahead is that it will become even less accessible as prices rise and supply significantly drops below demand. One of our key objectives this year is to plan for the development of village-scale renewable energy in these marginalised communities. Helping to provide the villagers with locally sourced, renewable energy will help protect against the future energy gap, from becoming even more marginalised. Here in the UK we are also working with communities, supporting them to develop their own sustainable energy plans. This will help them reduce their energy consumption and get more renewable energy generation, helping to reduce the effects of the energy gap.