Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Octaga Green Power & Sugar looking to raise $50 million

Mumbai-based Octaga Green Power & Sugar Co Ltd, engaged in distillery products manufacturing, plans to raise $50 million to fund its expansion plans.
 
"Currently, we have mandated to Delloitte to raise private equity of $20 million in the first round by diluting 22-24% equity stake. We are also looking at raising $30 million by diluting another 25% in the next three-year period. The capex will help in expanding the present capacity of 3 lakh cases a month to 5 lakh cases per month," Octaga Green Power & Sugar Co Managing Director Basab Paul told PTI here.
 ... Read more..

Corporation to hike service charge for waste management

Service charges for waste management in households are in for a steep hike. The health wing of the city corporation has decided to fix revised service charges under different categories based on the nature of service availed by the resident. The uniform amount of Rs 60 per month paid to the Cleanwell workers by each household will be non-existent from January. 
 
Instead, new rates will come in place considering whether the household has a waste management facility or not, if there is adequate space around the residential area to manage waste and how responsive the resident has... Read more..

Copenhagen Lighting the Way to Greener, More Efficient Cities

On a busy road in the center of town here, a string of green lights embedded in the bike path — the “Green Wave” — flashes on, helping cyclists avoid red traffic lights. On a main artery into the city, truck drivers can see on smartphones when the next light will change. And in a nearby suburb, new LED streetlights brighten only as vehicles approach, dimming once they pass.
 
Aimed at saving money, cutting the use of fossil fuels and easing mobility, the installations are part of a growing wireless network of streetlamps and sensors that officials hope will help this city of... Read more..

Lima deal leaves ominous climate questions

The U.S. and other nations were applauding this weekend’s climate change agreement on Monday, but the deal’s difficult negotiations showed all too clearly the major hurdles that lie ahead as officials try to reach a much more sweeping pact next year in Paris.
 
The 196 nations gathered in the Peruvian capital agreed that each country should offer a plan next year for reducing its own greenhouse gas pollution. In a major win for the U.S. position, developing nations like China and India are also encouraged under the deal to join richer countries in agreeing to make cuts.... Read more..

Indian solar power market sees global fund flow

 As Indian policy makers announce big-ticket projects and set huge targets for solar power capacity addition, global investors smell a huge opportunity.
 
US-based Morgan Stanley is likely to make a big investment in the solar space soon, likely in a +100-Mw project. So are other institutional investors such as IFC and Standard Chartered. Besides, Goldman Sachs, which invested about $375 million in Sumant Sinha-promoted ReNew Power, is looking to make more such investments in noted or upcoming companies in the clean energy space.
 
US Exim Bank, during Prime... Read more..

BMC plans more dry waste collection vehicles

The BMC is planning to increase the number of dry waste vehicles used to collect dry waste from housing societies in the city presently twice a week. Beginning from next year the solid waste management department plans to send dry waste vehicles to housing societies on an every day basis so that people are encouraged to segregate waste into dry and wet at the source itself. Senior officials said that the long-term aim is to stabilize the segregation of waste so that the corporation is able to earn income out of it. 
 
Presently dry waste vehicles go to housing societies twice a... Read more..

India's Green IT, Sustainability Spending To Reach $34 Billion In 2014

India’s spending on green IT and sustainability initiatives will reach $34 billion in 2014, a 14.1 percent increase from $29.2 billion in 2013, according to Gartner. 
 
In the Gartner report, Hype Cycle for Green IT and Sustainability in India, 2014, analysts said Indian organizations are moving beyond corporate social responsibility as a philanthropic activity, via integration with their core business operations. Eventually, organizational commitment and government regulations will drive adoption of green and sustainable technology and practices in India.

Global... Read more..

May not give free power to coal producing states: Goyal

The government may not provide free power to coal producing states of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh on account of negative impact of industrial activity in these states. "The major coal bearing states - Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh - have been airing their concerns about negative externalities they face in connection with coal mining and thermal power generation and have been demanding equitable compensation to host power generating states and levy duty on generation," Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
In this regard, the Planning... Read more..

CNR-led team finds the key to cheaper energy

A team of researchers from the city is on the cusp of producing cheaper and alternative energy. The group led by Bharat Ratna Prof CNR Rao has successfully researched on a cost-effective way of producing synthetic gas, a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, to generate electricity.
However, producing hydrogen and carbon monoxide is a difficult process. The existing methods are expensive, and producing electricity from them is uneconomical. They are produced by splitting water and carbon dioxide, respectively. But even the state-of-the-art methods for splitting them require... Read more..

Energy conservation can help save Rs 50,000 crore: Piyush Goyal

 Pursuing energy efficient ways will help reduce electricity consumption and save as much as Rs 50,000 crore, according to Power Minister Piyush Goyal.
 
Emphasising the need for conserving energy, he said that within next two years government buildings throughout the country would be equipped with energy saving LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs.
 
"India produces about one lakh crore units of electricity and if a ten per cent saving (energy) is made that can save 10,000 crore units," Goyal said today.
 
This is equivalent to as much as "Rs 50,000 crore"... Read more..

PM Narendra Modi calls for energy conservation

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to the people of the country to contribute towards energy conservation on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day.
 
"On National Energy Conservation Day we pledge our wholehearted commitment towards energy conservation in our daily lives," tweeted Prime Minister Modi.
 
National Energy Conservation Day is celebrated every year on December 14. The Energy Conservation Act in India was executed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in 2001. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a constitutional body, which... Read more..

Meghalaya Rivers Turn Blue, Pollution Blamed

 Two rivers flowing towards Bangladesh in eastern Meghalaya have turned blue apparently due to "high acid" content leading to demand from environment activists to take immediate action to check pollution.
 
The colour of Lukha river in East Jaintia Hills district and Myntdu river in West Jaintia Hills district has changed to a bright sky blue, "an annual occurence at this time of the year", according to locals.
 
The Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board in its 2012 report blamed "mine run-off" and acid effluents from coal mines as the main causes of water... Read more..