Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Schools in Mumbai recycle tetra pack boxes

'Biomass energy units can boost state's industrial growth'

Bihar has a good potential for setting up biomass-based energy generation plants as paddy husk and other biomass are available in plenty in the state. Setting up of these plants, in turn, could give a boost to establishment of industries in the state.

According to figures provided by the Bihar Renewable Energy Development Corporation (BREDA), Bihar could very well generate about 200MW power through biomass-based units. Bihar's industrial policy is tailored to give a fillip to setting up of these plants as it provides for 60% subsidy for purchase of plants and machinery for setting... Read more..

Business opportunities galore in solid waste management: expert

Why talk of solid waste to students of Management? Students of MBA at KKR & KSR Institute of Technology, who listened to The Hindu Business Line Club talk on “Business Opportunities in Solid Waste Management,” will agree that some tremendous business opportunities exist in solid waste management.

“Business opportunity lies in collecting, segregating and disposing the solid waste and the young entrepreneurs will be able to find a working model to run their business,” Environmental Engineer, Tenali municipality, Uday Singh, told the students on Thursday.

At a time when the... Read more..

Mahindra sees 500 Mw opportunity in solar

Mahindra group's three-year-old foray into the solar power sector is in the midst of takeoff. The company says that it could set-up as much as 500 megawatts of solar power in the next 24-36 months.

This opportunity however is not restricted just to the projects it had won during the national solar mission. It has already set-up a... Read more..

‘Lack of clarity in AP solar power policy holding up 750 MW of projects’

Farm waste can help farmers earn big bucks

The waste generated from their farms can provide farmers with an enterprise that can help them earn rich dividends. Indo-Israel KrishiVikasSanstha recently held a workshop to impart knowledge of the white coal business to farmers from the region.

Instead of burning waste after reaping a crop of cotton, soybean, rice or sponge gourds, a farmer can utilize this waste to make briquettes or biocoal. This fuel can fetch them good money and so farmers must be encouraged to take up this activity on a large scale, said former chief income tax officer Dhananjay Dharmik, who was the... Read more..

Govt encourages solar power

The state government on Monday announced its policy for encouraging solar power production in the state and issued a GO (No. 22) to this effect. In view of the potential to harness solar power, it was felt that net metering facility be provided to the consumers to generate solar power for self-consumption and feeding excess power into the grid when it is not being consumed by them.

AP Transco recently installed 100 KW solar plant at Vidyut Soudha, Hyderabad on a pilot basis and is following the net metering facility. As per the new policy, net metering facility will be... Read more..

PCRA to sensitize industries on energy efficiency

Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA)- Ahmedabad, an arm of union ministry of petroleum & natural gas (MoPNG) will sensitize industries about the energy efficiency and climate change across industrial clusters in Gujarat. Under the objective of the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, the ministry of power has made it mandatory for the high-energy consuming industries called as Designated Consumers (DCs) to save energy.

As per PCRA Gujarat has 54 DCs located across 8 industrial sectors. Abhay Bakre, executive director, PCRA mentioned that workshops... Read more..

India to miss clean energy capacity addition target this financial year

The renewable energy sector in the country is likely to miss the capacity addition target for the current financial year on the back of economic slowdown as also due to lapse of an incentive scheme and uncertainties over reintroduction of a government support scheme for the wind sector.

During the first 11 months of current financial year, country has added only 2,380 mw of new capacity. However, the new capacity addition target from the renewable energy sources is 4,125 mw for the year. While almost all sectors are short of target, the major slip is likely to be in the wind... Read more..

India hit by China's solar energy war

Notwithstanding the economic slowdown, several countries across the globe are engaged in a bitter fight for firmer control over solar energy - a key energy source in future.

The epicentre of the war is China, which has flooded the global market with its cheaper variants of solar equipment. However, the major economies are trying to hit back using trade restrictions.

The year 2012 witnessed the US announcing its anti-dumping tariff against Chinese manufacturers, which was followed by the European Union's restrictions against Chinese solar equipment. But China hit back... Read more..

Corporation zonal offices look to the sun for power

Four out of Chennai Corporation’s 15 zonal offices have recently begun to tap solar energy. The civic body recently commissioned six solar power plants, at a cost of Rs. 16 lakh, to light up portions of select zonal offices in the city.

While the facility at Basin Bridge zonal office has the capacity to generate 5 kilowatts of power, the zonal offices at Kodambakkam, Nungambakkam and Adyar; street light office at Shenoy Nagar and the corporation’s electrical lab and stores in Chintadripet each have one kilowatt capacity plants.

According to sources in the Chennai... Read more..

Wanted an eco-friendly, green disposal system

Delhi’s green watchdog, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), has warned of a critical environmental crisis if the Capital cannot manage its municipal waste properly.

“The sheer volume of waste generated by Delhi is a huge challenge. We simply have our hands full. The three dumping sites at Ghazipur, Bhalaswa and Okhla are exhausted. There is no space to add waste. Fresh sites are being looked into with the Narela-Bawana Road site now being touted as the newest area,” said DPCC member secretary Sandeep Kumar Mishra.... Read more..