Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Carbon traders deliver record activity during 2012, but market value plummets

The value of the global carbon market contracted for the first time last year, according to new figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) that show market activity only reached €61bn in 2012, a decline of more than a third on the previous year.

The drastic drop in the value of the market was caused by a near halving in the average price of carbon credits from €11.2 a tonne in 2011 to just €5.7 a tonne last year, the result of over-supply in the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS) and a surge in the issuance of UN-approved carbon offset credits.

However, the... Read more..

Date : Jan 4

Source: Business Green

Rejected in Argentina, yet welcome in Chalai

Innviron, the US-based company chosen by the state government to set up a gasification plant to treat municipal solid waste at Chalai, has a long history of 'breach of contract' and repeated failures in waste-management in Argentina. The documents sourced by TOI prove that the company was rejected by four different municipalities in Argentina after it failed to convince the local governments regarding its expertise in waste-management.

Their latest failure happened in November 2012 in Villa Maria, just weeks after the state government here entrusted Innviron to set up a waste-to-... Read more..

Date : Jan 4

Source: Times of India

Corpn to finalise contractor for waste recycling plant

After Chennai Corporation got a green signal to set up waste processing plants and scientifically close existing dump yards in the city from the state government, the civic body will hold a final pre-bid meeting to select the company to be entrusted with the work.

The Tamil Nadu government, on December 28 released an order approving the plan to process waste to reduce residues and close the two dumping yards. Now, Chennai Corporation has called the 16 short-listed companies for a pre-bid meeting on January 18, to closely study their technology. The focus of the meeting will be on... Read more..

Date : Jan 4

Source: Times of India

An undervalued sector for climate mitigation

Globally agriculture is a major source of GHG, accounting for about 14% of emissions. If we combine the emissions caused by deforestation for farming, fertiliser manufacturing and agricultural energy use, the sector becomes the largest contributor to global emissions. At the same time, technical mitigation potential is high in the sector—about two-third of the sectoral GHG. When it comes to global action on climate mitigation, however, agriculture sector is somehow undervalued. Much of attention and effort have been put on industry, electricity and transportation sectors.

Date : Jan 4

Source: Financial Express

Govt plans subsidy to boost electric, hybrid vehicle sales

In yet another move to push sales of electric and hybrid vehicles in the country, the government is likely to provide subsidies of up to `1.5 lakh on cars and `50,000 on two-wheelers in the next financial year, according to two government officials familiar with the matter.

“We are in the process of floating a cabinet note asking the finance ministry to release a corpus of `300-500 crore in the next fiscal to promote sales of such vehicles,” said a secretary-level official, requesting anonymity. “This corpus will basically be the same amount that the Centre gets as auto cess... Read more..

Date : Jan 4

Source: Livemint

500 MW solar power complex to be set up in Chitradurga

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is interested in solar power, and his interest in alternative energy has provided a major boost to Indian solar operators in the private sector.

American Energy Holdings, a company controlled by Berkshire Hathaway, has acquired two solar photovoltaic power plant projects in California from SunPower Corporation. American Energy is to shell out over $2 billion for the sale, construction and operation of the projects by SunPower.

As a private solar player said, “India's solar power sector was very popular with private... Read more..

Date : Jan 4

Source: Hindu Business Line

Save Power – Renewable Energy Conference

Presenting an exhibition that brings everyone closer – Save Power Show!

'Save Power Show' is an excellent networking and knowledge sharing platform for the stakeholders in Renewable Energy Sector. Save Power Show will showcase Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Products and Solutions under one roof to enable the visitors to acquire knowledge and information about the latest technology and the best solutions for their energy requirement, facilitating the transition of Kerala from Energy Crisis to Energy Security. 'Save Power Show' will be held at an ideal location at Le Meridien... Read more..

Date : Jan 3

Source: Save Power Show

Violators of environment norms to be dealt with sternly in Himachal Pradesh

Violators of environment norms will be dealt with sternly, newly-appointed chairman of Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, said today.

Private universities and hydropower projects flouting environment norms will come under scanner, he told reporters here.

"Some private universities and hydropower projects have flouted environment norms causing damage to the fragile ecology of the state.

"The matter will be looked into and steps will taken to safeguard the environment," Pathania said.

The board will implement provisions of the... Read more..

Date : Jan 3

Source: Times of India

Agartala to turn a ‘green’ city

Aiming to make Agartala an environmentally safe city, the Tripura government is preparing a report to make use of solar energy mandatory by owners of buildings.

The present building rules would be changed to make use of solar energy compulsory in buildings to reduce dependence on conventional energy, TripKar said the company would soon provide PNG connections to 10,000 new domestic consumers here.

The Agartala Municipal Council has made a Rs 452.32 crore-master plan to make Agartala a “solar city”. The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy would bear 90 per cent of the... Read more..

Date : Jan 3

Source: The Hindu

Common plant to treat industrial waste in PCMC

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is in talks with the PCMC and industries in the area to set up a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) to treat the 6 lakh litre of industrial effluents generated daily from nearly 296 small-scale industries in the area.

The common effluent plant is aimed at checking the massive river-pollution in PCMC area, listed among the five highly polluted industrial areas in the state by the MPCB.

“MPCB is likely to submit a feasibility report in a month, while the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the Maharashtra... Read more..

Date : Jan 3

Source: Indian Express

Door-to-door waste collection in Margao by Jan 15

The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) is gearing up to undertake door-to-door collection of garbage from the city in a phased manner.

MMC sources informed that the modalities for phase one of the exercise are being worked out and the system is likely to be introduced by January 15.

As per the plan worked out by the sanitary department of the MMC, the city has been divided into five belts for the purpose of door-to-door waste collection. The Comba-Maddel-Mungul belt has been identified for phase-I.

The exercise will be undertaken in association with Fomento, the... Read more..

Date : Jan 3

Source: Times of India

Solar power plants' output high, but varying widely

The ministry of new and renewable energy ( MNRE) recently released data of power generation from solar plants constructed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission ( JNNSM) for November. And the results span from very good to dismal.

November means short days for the solar plants, but according to Vineet Mittal, managing director of Welspun Energy, a solar power developer: “November is one of the better months with no rain or dust and with lower temperatures, closer to the conditions they are made for, increasing output from the cells.” Efficiency of solar power... Read more..

Date : Jan 3

Source: Business Standard

Move to extend REC validity beyond 1 year

When the Renewable Energy Certificate regime came into effect last year, it was generally believed that the proceeds from selling the certificates to those obligated to buy green power would form a meaningful stream of income to wind, biomass and solar energy producers.

But the trading in the last few months has belied the faith. In the trading session of December, 19 lakh RECs were available, of which less than 3 lakh were traded. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission recently took note of the “reluctance and/or apathy” on the part of the electricity distribution companies... Read more..

Date : Jan 3

Source: Hindu Business Line

Govt lays groundwork for wind power plants in four districts

To study the potential of harnessing wind power, four wind monitoring stations (WMS) will be set up in in Pilibhit, Sitapur, Shahjahanpur and Lakhimpur districts of Uttar Pradesh by the Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET).

After a year of analysis by C-WET, power plants based on wind energy will be developed in these areas on public-private partnership (PPP) model.

This is the first time efforts are being made to tap wind power energy in northern India. Some WMS are functioning in Rajasthan but there is none north of it.

The project is being handled by the... Read more..

Date : Jan 2

Source: Indian Express

Chhattisgarh govt to install solar energy driven water pumps in 1722 hamlets

Solar energy would not only power lamps but would also ensure drinking water in the Maoist-infested pockets in Chhattisgarh.

The state government had selected 1722 hamlets where water pumps operated by the solar energy would be installed to provide pure drinking water to the people. The hamlets are across the 10 districts of the state; mostly in the red zone.

A high level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, Sunil Kumar on Tuesday approved the proposal for the installing solar energy water pumps. This would in fact be a New Year gift for the people in the insurgency hit... Read more..

Date : Jan 2

Source: Business Standard

IITs set to launch aggressive drive to go green

In their age-old tradition of leading by example, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs ) are now set to launch an aggressive drive to go green.

Although the 13 elite tech schools have individually been pursuing the green cause through research initiatives and awareness programmes, on January 7 the IIT council - the highest decision-making body - is expected to direct all IITs to compulsorily carry out a green audit of the institutes, establish a "green office" dedicated to undertaking and monitoring green initiatives and encourage the use of green technology in construction of... Read more..

Date : Jan 2

Source: India Today

Corporation plans solar bus shelters to save power

In a bid to reduce power consumption, Corporation of Chennai has proposed to build solar bus shelters on major arterial roads. Officials said the solar-powered bus shelters will also have charging points for mobile phones.

A senior corporation official said: "Some bus shelters in the city have at least 20 tubelights. These consume a lot of power. To cut back on power consumption, we are considering solar-powered bus shelters on arterial roads."

Officials said they are yet to finalise locations for the proposed solar bus shelters. "The plan is only in its initial stage... Read more..

Date : Jan 2

Source: Times of India

Will the sun shine on solar power in India in 2013?

It was never the lack of sunshine but high costs that prevented India to tap solar power. That economics is changing fast, making solar power a viable option. Says Kameswara Rao, leader, energy, utilities and mining, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India, "There is considerable excitement on account of decline in capital costs over the years which has brought grid parity closer to reach. " From a peak of about Rs 18 per unit three years back solar power is now under Rs 11 per unit, making it a viable alternative, say, to burn diesel to run gensets during load shedding. Besides, solar... Read more..

Date : Jan 2

Source: Economic Times

Demand for Clean-Energy Credits in India Doubled in December

Demand for Indian renewable-energy credits more than doubled in December from the previous month with volumes rising to the second-highest level this year.

Bids from companies seeking to buy credits climbed 106 percent from the November trading session, while sell bids gained 18 percent, according to data from REConnect Energy Solutions Pvt., an Indore-based trader. The credits sold for 1,500 rupees ($27) each, the floor price set by the regulator.

“One of the reasons for the increase could be that India’s Central Electricity Regulator is deciding on increasing the... Read more..

Date : Jan 2

Source: Bloomberg

Sinovel gets approval to sell wind turbine machines in India

Chinese company Sinovel which is one of the largest wind turbine manufacturers in the world, has received the ‘type approval’ from the Centre for Wind Energy Technology to sell its (specified) machines in India.

This approval effectively paves the way for Sinovel’s entry into the Indian wind market.

The company has received approval for its 1.5 MW machine that has a rotor diameter of 82.92 metres and hub height of either 70 metres or 80 metres.

Sinovel has an agreement with the Ghodawat group of Maharashtra to use the latter’s facilities to produce the turbines in... Read more..

Date : Jan 2

Source: Hindu Business Line

Technopark trying for a green tag

The Technopark campus here is preparing to acquire ‘green zone’ status even as the ambitious phase-3 expansion project is set to be commissioned in another six to eight months, doubling the number of employees and adding one million sq ft of built-up area.

The management is gearing up to embrace eco-friendly practices and techniques, under plans to acquire the green tag. On the anvil are programmes to enhance the green cover by planting more trees, introduce a solid waste management system to dispose of all the garbage generated on the campus, and promote eco-friendly... Read more..

Date : Jan 1

Source: The Hindu

Haryana govt to tap solar energy: Hooda

The Haryana government would tap solar energy in a big way to generate additional power, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said today.

Interacting with mediapersons after the Cabinet meeting here, the Chief Minister said he had directed officers concerned to take technical advice for setting up solar power plants on canals.

The state government has also signed a MoU with Bhutan for setting up a 1,500-2,000 MW hydro power project, he said.

He said that work on the nuclear power plant at Gorakhpur in Fatehabad District had already been started.

Asked about the... Read more..

Date : Jan 1

Source: Hindu Business Line

Mysore palace to save on energy bills

The ongoing energy-saving measures in Mysore’s most sought-after tourist destination, the palace, has resulted in about 60 per cent savings in the energy consumption bill, according to T Ananthapadmanabha, chairman of the committee constituted by the Palace Board.

“We have already replaced 40-45 per cent of the incandescent and other powerful bulbs in the palace surroundings with high energy-efficient and eco-friendly Light-Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs. This has resulted in savings of about 60 per cent in the electricity bill,” he told Business Standard on Sunday.

“However, we... Read more..

Date : Jan 1

Source: Business Standard

Renewable Energy Corporation ASA : REC supplies 10 MW for two solar power plant installations in India

REC, the largest European supplier of solar panels, announced that it was the exclusive supplier of high-performance solar panels for two five MW solar power plants in the region of Gujarat, India, known as the 'solar energy hub'.

"The historic blackout in India in late July 2012 identified the main problems of energy supply in India: a strong focus on fossil fuels and the centralized grid," explained Luc Graré, Senior Vice President Solar Sales and Marketing, REC. "Renewable energy, especially solar electricity solutions, are needed to power India's future because solar... Read more..

Date : Jan 1

Source: 4-traders

International conference on power, energy held in Arunachal Pradesh

The first international conference on power and energy of NERIST-2012 got underway on Friday at NERIST in Arunachal Pradesh.

The two-day conference aims at providing a platform to share research in areas related to theory, development, applications and evaluation in the field of power, high voltage, energy and industry applications with a special focus on solar photovoltaics, energy supply for future, modelling of streamer discharges, smart grid and 1200 KV UHV transmission line in India and ethical issues.

The former director of IIT, Kharagpur, KL Chopra, attended the... Read more..

Date : Dec 31

Source: Times of India