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Sustainability Outlook Headlines
Indian government looks to reinvigorate the flagging Wind Energy sectorThe Indian wind industry has been in doldrums in recent times.
The removal of long standing accelerated depreciation subsidy as well as the removal of generation based incentives has caused this problem. This coupled with inadequate transmission capacities has made wind energy slow down considerably. While GBI has been reintroduced, the animal spirits are missing in the wind industry today. Most people are looking to exit the industry at cheap prices, due to a number of uncertainties in operations.
The Indian government now plans to reinvigorate the... Read more.. Date : Jan 22 Source: Wall Street Sector Selector
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Clean E-India, GFFD to manage e-waste collection, recyclingClean E-India initiative has collaborated with Guide Foundation for Development (GFFD) here to implement "safe and responsible" waste collection and recycling of electronic and electrical goods in the city.
Clean E-India initiative was jointly launched in April 2013 by International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Attero, an asset management and recycling company, to collect and "responsibly" recycle electronic waste through an approach that integrates informal waste collectors (kabaadiwallahs) into an organised network, according... Read more.. Date : Jan 21 Source: Business Standard
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Low-carbon policies aren't just pain - they make economies growRenewables and climate protection, so goes common wisdom, are costly endeavors that inevitably throw a spanner in industrial economies geared for growth. But an excellent new study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory for the European Climate Foundation contradicts this ostensible truism. As Paul Hockenos explains, it shows that while the transition to a low-carbon energy system may indeed cost money, economies can grow – not despite low-emissions policies, but also because of them. In fact, four of the five countries examined in the report – Denmark, Germany, Sweden... Read more.. Date : Jan 21 Source: RenewEconomy
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Algae.Tec strikes pilot plant, investment deal with India's RelianceAustralian algae fuel developer Algae.Tec has struck a deal with Indian industrial giant Reliance Industries that could offer an opening into the huge India market.
Algae.Tec is to build a pilot biofuels plants using its algae fuel technology as part of an agreement with a subsidiary of India’s largest privately owned company to make an initial investment of $1.5 million and a further investment of $1.2 million.
Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL) will fund the small pilot plant – which will capture Co2... Read more.. Date : Jan 21 Source: RenewEconomy
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Govt approves projects under DMIC, move to boost manufacturingThe government today approved setting up of three projects, including a solar power unit under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, worth Rs 2,558.6 crore, a move which would boost manufacturing sector in the country. The cabinet committee on economic affairs also approved the special loan facility to be provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for development of DMIC project. Further, the projects cleared by the CCEA include formation of a SPV for implementation and operation of model solar power project at Neemrana as a 100 per cent subsidiary of Delhi Mumbai... Read more.. Date : Jan 21 Source: First Post
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TPG Growth cuts stake in clean energy producer Greenko GroupTPG Growth, an arm of global private equity major TPG, has sold around a quarter of its stake in clean energy producer Greenko Group plc nearly four years after its initial investment. TPG Growth sold a little over 2 per cent stake over the last six months in London’s AIM-listed Greenko, reducing its holding to 5.96 per cent. According to VCCircle estimate, the stake has been sold for $6 million to $8.5 million. A large chunk of the stake has been sold earlier this month as Greenko's scrip reached over 170 pence per unit. In January 2010, TPG Growth led a $116-million round... Read more.. Date : Jan 21 Source: VC Circle
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Tapping infrared radiation for solar energy harvestingA team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has formulated a method that is said to improve solar energy harvesting efficiency by using sunlight to heat a high-temperature material whose infrared radiation would then be collected by a conventional photovoltaic (PV) cell. This technique, say the researchers, could make it easier to store energy collected for later use. In this case, adding the extra step improves performance, because it makes it possible to take advantage of wavelengths of light that ordinarily go to waste. The process is described in a... Read more.. Date : Jan 21 Source: EE Times
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Implementation of “Development of Solar Cities Programme” during 2013-14The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (Solar Energy Group) released the following statement on the Implementation of "Development of Solar Cities Programme" during 2013-14 and the rest of the 12th Five-Year plan. The goal of the program is to promote the use of Renewable Energy in Urban Areas by providing support to the Municipal Corporations for preparation and implementation of a Road Map to develop their cities as Solar Cities. The objectives of the programme are given below:
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India Draws Bids for Triple Solar Capacity OfferedIndia received bids for almost triple the 750 megawatts of solar capacity offered after enticing developers with grants for the first time that will cover part of the cost of the plants. The state-run Solar Energy Corp. of India received 58 bids for 2,170 megawatts in the country’s first national auction of photovoltaic licenses in two years, Tarun Kapoor, joint-secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said in an interview today in New Delhi. The technical bids will be opened today to check whether companies meet the qualifications to build plants, Rajendra... Read more.. Date : Jan 20 Source: Bloomberg
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Value of coal assets 'could be halved' if world goes low-carbonCoal an increasing financial risk for big mining houses as divestment from the fossil fuel gains traction, says report Coal assets could be worth less than half of their current market value if the world agrees tougher climate targets and curbs on the use of the fuel, investment bank HSBC said in a report today. HSBC said that the value of coal assets owned by global mining conglomerates such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Glencore Xstrata might be slashed by around $20 billion if governments decide that much of the world’s future coal production should be... Read more.. Date : Jan 20 Source: Responding to Climate Change
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Moser Baer sells solar PV worth Rs 100 crore in JapanSolar PV manufacturing firm Moser Baer Solar today said it has crossed over Rs 100 crore worth of photo-voltaic module sales in the Japanese market. Moser Baer Solar, a subsidiary of Moser Baer India, has crossed more than Rs 100 crore PV module sales in the Japan market during April-December 2013," the company said in a statement. Moser Baer Solar has been exporting solar PV modules to Japan for last four years and the volume of shipments has increased significantly in last nine months, the statement said. "Japan traditionally is amongst the world's most quality... Read more.. Date : Jan 20 Source: Economic Times
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Smartphone Application for Solar InverterTechnopark-based Ronds Innotech has developed a solar-powered inverter which can be controlled and monitored by Android or i Operating System smartphones. The application, ‘Ronds C Tracker’ used for the smartphone is available free in any App Store. By connecting it to the phone one can know the details of charging, discharging, performance, operations history and usage of the inverter. GSM-based remote maintenance, reduced amount of electricity, extended battery life, automated power source selection and remote monitoring without Internet are the other features of the solar... Read more.. Date : Jan 20 Source: The New Indian Express
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India, UAE to cooperate for solar, wind energyIndia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed an agreement to enhance cooperation in renewable energy, especially in the areas of solar and wind power. India's minister of new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, minister of state and the UAE's special envoy for energy and climate change, Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in these areas in Abu Dhabi. Both countries also agreed to form a joint working group for better... Read more.. |
Bleak summer ahead: Wind energy on the waneSummer is approaching and by the looks of it, wind power may not be of much help this year. Fresh wind power capacity additions in 2013 fell sharply to 101MW compared with about 537MW in 2012, and the numbers are not expected to go up over the coming year.
Wind power, over the last few years, was looked at as a saviour during power cuts in summer, as wind flows and wind power generation increases during summer, just when domestic demand for power goes up. Tamil Nadu has the highest installed capacity for wind power. However, wind power did not help during... Read more.. Date : Jan 20 Source: Times of India
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UAE's Etihad demonstrates flight with biofuel mixEtihad Airways said on Sunday it has flown a Boeing 777 plane on a 45-minute demonstration flight powered in part by biofuel developed in collaboration with French firm Total. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier has teamed up with Total, US-manufacturer Boeing, local refiner Takreer, and Masdar research institute in an initiative "to support a sustainable aviation biofuel industry in the United Arab Emirates," it said. Biofuel amounted to 10 percent of the fuel used in the demonstration flight that took... Read more.. |
Global energy consumption to increase 41% by 2035 - BPGlobal energy demand continues to grow but that growth is slowing and mainly driven by emerging economies - led by China and India - the "BP Energy Outlook 2035" report said. The Outlook revealed that global energy consumption is expected to rise by 41 percent from 2012 to 2035 - compared to 55 percent over the last 23 years (52 percent over the last twenty) and 30 percent over the last ten. Ninety five percent of that growth in demand is expected to come from the emerging economies, while energy... Read more.. |
Scaling up water sustainabilitySince 2000, when the United Nations’ millennium development goals (MDGs) were adopted, the global community has rightly focused significant attention on providing access to basic water and sanitation services. From 1990 to 2010, more than two billion people gained access to improved water sources. As the United Nations prepares to adopt so-called sustainable development goals (SDGs) as the post-2015 successor to the MDGs, the high-stakes business of large-scale water infrastructure should be placed front and centre. The conventional... Read more.. |
Borgad gets its first solar heaterIn yet another attempt to ensure that the villagers of Borgad preserve their forests, NGO Nature Conservation Society of Nashik (NCSN), which has been instrumental in reviving the green cover in the region, has donated a solar heater to the villagers for heating water. One of the members of the NCSN, Vishwas Savkar, donated a solar heater of 500-litre capacity to Borgad, which had become almost barren due to rampant deforestation over six years ago. The NGO, the forest department, the Air Force and a Nashik-based company, along with... Read more.. |
Climate change alters land map of IndiaThe adverse effects of climate change are being felt on more than a fourth of India’s landmass over the last four decades. While some parts of the country have turned arid, others have witnessed more rainfall. A study by the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) at Hyderabad has revealed that about 27% of the country’s geographical area has been directly impacted by climate change, a result of increase in mean surface temperatures coupled with changes in rainfall pattern between 1971 and 2005. ... Read more.. Date : Jan 20 Source: Hindustan Times
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India installs more than 1 GW of grid-tied solar PV, CSP in 2013India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has published data which shows that the nation installed 1.004 GW of grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) capacity in 2013, to bring it to a cumulative total of 2.18 GW. This 1.004 GW is within 1% of the 1.0 GW forecast by Mercom Capital LLC (Austin, Texas, U.S.) as early as August 2013. Solar now represents 7.3% of India's installed grid-tied renewable energy capacity, but less than 1% of overall capacity. ... Read more.. |
EU to announce 2030 climate change targets, with compromise possibleThe EU will announce climate change targets for 2030 this week, but differences over priorities and an unwillingness to take the lead while global rivals hang back may result in a compromise. The 2020 programme is judged a success, but some argue that means the European Union can now ease up to focus on a struggling economy, while others want a more ambitious package to keep up the momentum. European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso will unveil the new package on Wednesday, ahead of a March EU... Read more.. |
Farm Ministers Say World Faces 'Immense Challenges' to Feed AllEfforts to rid the world of hunger face “immense challenges” as farmers deal with resource scarcity, climate change and loss of soil fertility, agriculture ministers from 65 countries said. Economic and financial crisis and “excessive” price swings create uncertainty that endangers investment in agriculture, the policy makers gathered in Berlin wrote in a joint statement published by the German agriculture ministry and dated yesterday. Food production will have to rise 60 percent between now and 2050 as the world population... Read more.. |
'Andhra Pradesh potential untapped till now'Observing that the potential of Andhra Pradesh is largely untapped, the president of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) Naval Bajaj said that the organisation wants to ensure interaction and exchange of business opportunities between businesses in Canada and Andhra Pradesh. Speaking during the visit of the business delegation of ICCC to the city on Saturday, Bajaj said investments in four key sectors of agriculture, energy, education and technology could prove beneficial for both the countries. ... Read more.. Date : Jan 19 Source: Times of India
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Even India could reach nearly 100% renewables by 2051When the world thinks of countries that could go 100 per cent renewable, the immediate thoughts go to islands with solar and storage, hydro and geothermal rich countries such as Iceland, or even wind and wave-rich countries like Scotland.
One of the last economies imagined going fully renewable would be India, the rising economic giant that is still yet to connect several hundred million people to its mostly coal-fired grid, and is expected to have the highest growth of electricity consumption. But according to environmental group WWF, India could reach a goal of... Read more.. Date : Jan 17 Source: RenewEconomy
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New water project to modernise irrigation systemsAimed at increasing agricultural productivity in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday launched second phase of the UP Water Sector Restructuring Project. The Rs 3,090-crore project, officials said, will play a significant role in alleviating extreme poverty. To be executed with the help of an interest-free loan of Rs 2,160 crore from the World Bank, the project will rehabilitate and modernise existing irrigation systems and increase community participation through water user associations. The project is expected to assist nearly 10 lakh farmer families through better... Read more.. Date : Jan 17 Source: Times of India
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