Sustainability Outlook Headlines

CM takes stock of power scene as wind energy dips

As power generation in the state dipped precariously following a sudden decrease in wind energy, chief minister J Jayalalithaa hurriedly convened a meeting of top officials to take stock of the situation. The state has been experiencing scheduled and unannounced outages and poor quality power.

With wind power generation virtually coming to a halt on Thursday morning, the chief minister directed officials to take necessary steps to speed up work on three upcoming thermal power plants in the state. Against an installed wind power generation capacity of 7,094MW, the state realised just... Read more..

Date : Aug 24

Source: Times of India

Sustainability gets supporters from all sectors

Unless we conserve energy and resources along with attempts to reduce global warming, we are calling for a disaster, said M Veerappa Moily, minister of power and corporate affairs at The Energy and Resources Institute’s 11th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture on Wednesday.

Moily stressed on radical solutions for a sustainable future. “People are now realising this issue as we have graduated from advocacy to implementation of methods to sustain our environment. We need to follow the US’ greenhouse emission solutions. Sustainability is a national character that cannot be neglected. We need... Read more..

Date : Aug 23

Source: Deccan Herald

GVK wins environmental clearance for Aussie projects

VK Power and Infrastructure won environmental approval for its A$10 billion Alpha coal and rail project in Australia's Queensland state on Thursday, with 19 conditions to protect the environment.

The approval came as Australia declared the end of the resources boom that cushioned the country from the global financial crisis, a day after the world's biggest miner, BHP Billito shelved two major expansion plans worth at least $40 billion.

The Alpha scheme is the front-runner among several projects in the untapped Galilee Basin in Queensland, where rival Indian group Adani... Read more..

Date : Aug 23

Source: Business Standard

Sustainability reporting framework soon for companies: Veerappa Moily

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs will soon come out with a sustainability reporting framework for companies to ensure that they follow certain parameters while meeting environmental challenges.

"We are coming out with a sustainability reporting framework. Any corporate body while they perform, while they do corporate social responsibility, they should also ensure that certain parameters (are met)...," Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily said today.

He said it would be mandatory for companies... Read more..

Date : Aug 23

Source: Economic Times

Look beyond govt for green initiatives: Hart

nnovators should stop depending on government to achieve their objective and move beyond “greening” to confront growing inequality and environmental degradation successfully, said Prof Stuart L Hart, the founding director of the Indian Institute for Sustainable Enterprise (IISE) based in the City.

He was speaking at a leadership conclave on ‘Defining Sustainability: Rio and Beyond - The New Corporate Challenge of the 21st Century’ in the City on Wednesday.

The adverse impact of the involvement of governments or policy makers in sustainability was glaring during the recent Rio... Read more..

Date : Aug 23

Source: Deccan Herald

US firm plans Rs 580 crore solar power project in Bihar

A US-based agency, Schanti Partners, New York, has expressed its keen interest in investing Rs 580 crore for a solar energy project in Kaimur district of Bihar. Initially, a 10MW unit would be set up. The agency has already submitted its proposal to the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) and received approval from the Bihar State Investment Promotion Board as also no-objection letter from Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA).

The agency intends to enter into a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with BSEB. The proposed PPA rate is Rs 12.50/kWh.

This would be... Read more..

Date : Aug 23

Source: Economic Times

India is world leader in concentrated solar heating, says Ministry

With some 80 different applications of concentrated solar heating in practice in the country, India is the world leader in CSH, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has said.

When you speak of solar energy, you think mainly of solar panels and electricity flowing from them. Then you would think of appliances such as solar water heaters and solar lamps.

But the big use of solar energy lies in directly using the sun’s heat for use in industry. Lots of manufacturing units require just low-to-medium temperature heat, up to 250 degrees Celsius, mostly for drying stuff. Today,... Read more..

Date : Aug 22

Source: The Hindu

Puma’s first ever ‘green’ store to open in Bangalore

Leading sports lifestyle firm Puma is all set to open its first sustainable (read green) standalone store in Bangalore as a part of a global initiative.

“This is Puma’s first such store in the world. We are starting the project with India and depending on its success, will replicate it in other countries,” said Rajiv Mehta, Managing Director, Puma.

He added that Puma’s Indian arm, in 2010, had won the global PPR Innovation and Sustainable Development Award for a project to build an energy-efficient, eco-designed store. After bagging the award, India was chosen as the... Read more..

Date : Aug 22

Source: The Hindu

India Considers $35 Billion Debt Revamp After Blackout

India plans to restructure about $35 billion of loans held by its utilities to boost their ability to supply electricity and avert outages like the one that cut off power to half the nation’s 1.2 billion people.

Half of the short-term borrowings of the state-owned utilities, which generate or buy and distribute electricity, will be transferred to the books of the regional governments, according to a power ministry draft proposal obtained by Bloomberg News. The rest will be rescheduled by the banks and allowed a three-year moratorium on principal repayments.
Enlarge image India... Read more..

Date : Aug 22

Source: Bloomberg

Tamil Nadu witnesses drop in installations of wind turbines

Tamil Nadu, which has the largest number of wind mills installed in the country, has seen a drop in installation of new wind turbines during April-June this year.

According to the Indian Wind Power Association, just about 80 MW of wind mills were installed during the first quarter of this financial year as against nearly 250 MW last year. This is because of several factors.

“The State is looking at tremendous growth in the renewable energy sector. This requires efforts to boost wind energy generation,” says K. Kasthoorirangaian, chairman of the association.

The State... Read more..

Date : Aug 22

Source: The Hindu

MoEF serious about E-waste disposal

The ministry of environment and Forests is implementing a scheme to provide financial assistance for setting up of treatment, disposal and storage facility for hazardous and integrated recycling facilities for E-waste on public private partnership mode.

Based on a survey carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), it is estimated that 1.47 lakh MT of e-waste was generated in the country in the year 2005. This is expected to increase to about 8.0 lakh MT by 2012. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya... Read more..

Date : Aug 21

Source: Times of India

Solarcon India meet to help evolve plans for solar industry

Solarcon India 2012, the fourth edition of solar-focused technology and business event will be held in Bangalore on September 3-5.

The event, organised by SEMI India, includes an exhibition, a conference and parallel technical sessions to be held at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC).

Solarcon India has been providing platform for industry, government, NGOs and other eco-system partners to come together to discuss and evolve plans to help the growth of the local solar industry.

According to Debasish Paul Choudhury, president, SEMI India, this year’s... Read more..

Date : Aug 21

Source: The Hindu

States allowed to buy certificates from pvt players

States will now be able to buy renewable energy certificates (RECs) to make up for a portion of their mandatory renewable energy purchases from entrepreneurs who produce power and operate in rural areas. In a recent move, the Forum of Regulators (FoR), a statutory body of electricity regulators, has approved the proposal which policy-makers say will also encourage the expansion of renewable energy projects operating in rural India.

RECs, like carbon credits, are a transfer of an obligation toward green energy — in this case the Renewable Purchase Obligation that each state has to... Read more..

Date : Aug 21

Source: The Indian Express

Affordable wind energy not hot air

Anyone thinking of setting up coal-based power projects may want to think again. The stratospheric rise in the price of imported coal and the shortage of the fossil fuel at home have given rise to a scenario once thought impossible: For the first time, the cost of wind power is now on a par with the price of coal-fired energy in some parts of India.

According to estimates of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the most efficient wind projects in India run at a cost comparable to new coal-fed plants. Some of the best renewable energy projects produce power at costs that vary from Rs 2.7 to... Read more..

Date : Aug 21

Source: Business Standard

Sikkim aims to become 'fully organic' by 2015

Sikkim, which started eco-friendly farming from a small area of land about a decade ago, is set to become a fully organic state by 2015, a senior state official has said.

"The entire state will be converted into a certified organic state by 2015. Our schemes and policies are well tuned to realize that goal," Sikkim Agriculture Secretary... Read more..

Date : Aug 21

Source: Times of India

Soon, BEST to power its bus depots with solar energy

Taking a leap towards conservation of energy, the BEST has decided to experiment with the use of solar power to provide electricity to its 25 bus depots across the city.

BEST incurs a huge power bill, which runs into lakhs of rupees annually, at the bus depots-especially in the western and eastern suburbs. "Electricity is needed to light up the depot almost round the clock, to run various equipment to maintain and clean buses and at the various offices within the depots," a senior official said. The administration has now decided to install solar energy panels at three depots in the... Read more..

Date : Aug 21

Source: Times of India

Wind energy in Arunachal can be tapped: Tuki

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki today emphasised on chalking out mechanism to tap the massive potential of renewable energy in the state.

"Our hill locks, mountains and river banks has enormous potential for developing wind energy which if rightly harnessed can generate good revenue," Tuki said while delivering a speech here this morning on the occasion of Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas.

He added that identifying certain places like Pasighat, Sela Pass in Tawang, Hawa Camp near Kimin as some potential areas where proposal for wind energy generation could be... Read more..

Date : Aug 20

Source: Business Standard

US is using climate finance to kill the Indian solar panel industry: CSE

Researchers of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) have claimed that the United States is using the 'fast start financing fund' to its pervert advantage for ruining the Indian domestic solar photo-voltaic (PV) manufacturing industry.

Currently, 80 per cent of the Indian manufacturing capacity is in a state of forced closure and debt restructuring with no orders coming to them, while the US manufacturers are getting orders from Indian solar... Read more..

Date : Aug 20

Source: Times of India

Orissa forest officer gets rap for advising Andhra firm

A 1983-batch Indian Forest Service officer, who till last year served as additional resident commissioner of Orissa in Delhi, has been reprimanded by the state forest department over providing advice to an Andhra Pradesh-based carbon trading company.

The state forest department, in a letter to Masabathula Satyanarayana, has cautioned him against providing any technical advice to Veda Climate Change Solutions Limited and an NGO Veda Mutually-Aided Cooperative Society even in “honorary capacity”.

“You had provided advice on forestry matters to Veda MACS and Veda Climate Change... Read more..

Date : Aug 20

Source: The Indian Express

MoEF OKs 80 road plans in a day

There has been an added push in the clearance of key infrastructure projects since the return of P Chidambaram in the finance minister's saddle. Sources in the government said that the ministry of forest and environment (MoEF) has cleared about 80 files relating to road projects—which were awaiting nod for long—in a day.

Earlier, the highways ministry had told Lok Sabha that 347 projects were awaiting MoEF's nod. As many as 270 road projects being executed by the Border Roads Organization were awaiting green clearance. Arunachal (29) and Chhattisgarh (11) had the maximum projects... Read more..

Date : Aug 20

Source: Times of India

Allahabad University professor develops solar-based system to overcome power crisis

The recent grid failures, which affected several states twice, are still fresh in the minds of the people. A professor of Allahabad University, his student and scientists from National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) have come up with a cost-effective solar-based system to overcome power crisis.

Its basis is a smart reflector and sensor-based sun tracking system. The system has been developed by CK Dwivedi of JK Institute of Applied Physics and Technology and MTech student Anurag Rai.

Dwivedi and his student have already developed a prototype of this reflector-based system... Read more..

Date : Aug 17

Source: Times of India

Central University professor presents paper on 'Green Gujarat' at Oxford

The Gujarat story was discussed threadbare during an international conference on green economics at the Oxford University. Called the 7th Annual Green Economics Institute, Green Economics Conference, the meet had professor Indira Dutta of Central University Gujarat, Gandhinagar, as a delegate.

Dutta, the only participant from India, presented a paper 'Green Gujarat: A Vision Towards Sustainability' in the conference. The paper talks about the illustrious-industrious journey of Gujarat and environmental concerns which have grown alongside. It discusses how Gujarat houses one of the... Read more..

Date : Aug 17

Source: Times of India

Nalco's foray into energy sector, to invest Rs 40,000 cr

Poised for a big leap in its diversification plan, aluminium giant Nalco is all set to invest around Rs 40,000 crore to make a foray into energy sector besides implementing a host of new projects and expansion works.

"The company has taken up several greenfield projects. As part of this drive, plans are afoot to set up a new smelter in Western Odisha with an investment of about Rs 16,000 crore," Nalco CMD B L Bagra said.

The project is now being pursued with the Odisha government by the Navaratna PSU. The company is also planning to set up a Rs 4,500 crore alumina refinery in... Read more..

Date : Aug 16

Source: Business Standard

Burning questions

Indian industry has one foot mired in outdated and unsustainable practices, while its other foot is poised for a leap forward. This dichotomy is clearly displayed in the environmental and operational health and safety practices of some of our heavy industry — the backbone of infrastructure and manufacturing growth. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, via its Green Rating Project (GRP) has been at the forefront of uncovering this unsustainability while providing pathways and best practices aimed at sustainability.

The treatise on the iron and steel sector, Into... Read more..

Date : Aug 16

Source: Business Standard

Solar energy to be used for irrigation

The state government has launched a plan to boost the lift irrigation projects in the state wherein it will install solar panels on irrigation canals to generate power. In the first phase, this project would be implemented in Yadgir, Raichur and Bijapur districts and then extended to other districts.

The Karnataka government took the initiative inspired by the success of a similar project implementation in Gujarat where the villages are getting uninterrupted power supply.

Water resources minister Bommai told ToI on Wednesday that the decision was taken after a team of experts... Read more..

Date : Aug 16

Source: Times of India