New Hampshire, USA -- Japan this week marks the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that has since forced it to re-evaluate its nuclear strategy. In doing so, it also unveiled a plan that could have big implications for renewable energy across the continent.

Energy demands in South Asia are growing at rate of over 6.0 per cent a year - a pace that is far in excess of the region's capacity to meet. The fact that a sizeable section of the population does not have access to electricity makes energy security a daunting challenge for the countries of this region.