Union Minister of Tamil Nadu accuses West of profit making

Chennai: Union minister of state for power Piyush Goyal on Friday accused the western countries of trying to make profit from innovations at the cost of protecting environment. 

After inaugurating innovative solar DC products ‘Inverterless’ and appliances, developed by IIT Madras and also Green Building cooling system along with the insulated thermal storage tank at the IIT Research Park, he said that two American companies have developed hydro-fluorocarbon (HFC) free air conditioning technology but selling them at twice or thrice its cost. “The AC usually we set up in the homes and offices are powered by HFC technology that is the coolant which really brings in the high degree of cooling in the AC systems.

These HFC are extremely dangerous for the environment," he said, adding that after COP21 in Paris, the whole world is focusing on HFC-free cooling systems. “My grouse is the west develops technologies and new solutions, but it tries to profit from the innovations at the cost of protecting the environment. Why should HFC-free air conditioning technology be in the hands of two American private firms, who charge heavy and make air conditioning twice or thrice as expensive.

Now, the IIT Madras developed technology will show how HFC-free cooling can be achieved not at the cost that west is trying to sell to the world, but at the negligible cost over and above the conventional cooling systems,” the minister said, terming the Green building cooling system using thermal insulated technology as an interesting and game changing technology.