Sustainability Outlook Headlines

India's policy decisions dampen investment climate: US envoy

Several recent policy decisions by India have caused "significant concern" and "dampened sentiment" about its investment climate, US Ambassador to India Nancy J Powell said today.

"The adoption of manufacturing policies discriminatory to foreign companies and the inclusion of retroactive tax provisions in the Finance Bill are two examples," Powell said, addressing members of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) and American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) here.

Voicing concern over challenges to trade and investment, she also called for a level playing field for US... Read more..

'Inexact' computer chip 15 times more efficient than current models unveiled

Computing experts including Indian origin researchers have created an "inexact" computer chip that challenges the industry's 50-year pursuit of accuracy.

The design improves power and resource efficiency by allowing for occasional errors.

Prototypes unveiled this week at the ACM International Conference on Computing Frontiers in Cagliari, Italy, are at least 15 times more efficient than present technology.

The research, which earned best-paper honors at the conference, was conducted by experts from Rice University in Houston, Singapore's Nanyang Technological... Read more..

Investment in Renewable Technologies Worldwide - new market research report

Renewable energy is responsible for contributing almost 29.3% of human energy use all across the globe. With pollution levels rising incessantly, renewable energy resources have turned out to be a major boon to the environment as well as investors world over. Green energy overtook fossil fuels in attracting investment for power generation in the recent times. Wind, solar and other clean technologies attracted investments which overtook that for gas and coal for electrical power generation, with more than a third of the green cash destined for Britain and the rest of Europe.

The... Read more..

Mining Industry ‘to Spend $20bn on Renewable Energy and Conservation by 2020′

Worldwide investment by the mining industry in renewable energy and energy conservation will reach about $8.4 billion by 2016 and nearly $20 billion by 2020, according to a new report from Pike Research.

And under a more aggressive scenario, in which the global economy expands more rapidly and policy mandates pertaining to climate change are more robust, spending could reach $15.6 billion by 2016 and $30 billion annually by 2020, the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts.

Ever-increasing pressure from governments, customers, and other stakeholders will drive this shift... Read more..

Several power plants to shut down on dearth of fuel, transmission facilities

As the mercury rises and the summer heat peaks, Indians may be in for sweaty days with long power cuts in some regions as several plants have been forced to shut down due to scarcity of fuel and transmission facilities and equipment failure.

Almost 20% of India's total installed power generation capacity has been shut down due to various reasons, forcing utilities to cut supplies to factories and households.

Analysts warned that the situation would deteriorate as demand for power peaks in the next four weeks. The shutdowns have wiped out the expected benefits of the record... Read more..

Coal Use Drops to Record Lows While Clean Energy Soars

It's amazing how much can change in a year. At this time in 2011, we were testing our hair for mercury as a way to encourage the EPA to adopt strong mercury pollution protections -- which the agency did. I was also celebrating generating my first clean kilowatt of energy from brand new solar panels on my home.

A mere one year later, some jaw-dropping numbers have just come in: In the first quarter of 2012, coal made up just 36 percent of U.S. electricity generation -- down from nearly 45 percent from the same period in 2011. That's a 9 percent drop in U.S. coal use in just one year... Read more..

India to begin testing viability of new wind energy projects this year

Center for Wind Energy Technology to launch new study

India’s Center for Wind Energy Technology (CWET) has announced that it will be launching a new project that will investigate the potential for wind energy throughout the country. The project will be launched this year and CWET claims that it will provide wind energy companies with access to detailed data concerning investment opportunities. Wind energy is India’s most lucrative alternative energy business currently, and the country has spent a great deal of time supporting the industry and the efforts of... Read more..

Solar powered waterholes help Nagzira wildlife

In news these days for regular tiger sightings and success of Pitezari tents, Nagzira wildlife sanctuary has come up with another innovative move. It has powered artificial waterholes with solar energy.

Nagzira, 125km from Nagpur in Gondia district, has become the first sanctuary in the state to make use of renewable energy sources. These waterholes are in Borewell Camp, Murpaar, Hattigodhra and Sivwar areas of the sanctuary.

Though ambient temperatures are a scorching 44 deg Celsius, wild animals of Nagzira are lucky to get uninterrupted water in the artificial waterholes... Read more..

'Majority of global population to live in cities by 2050'

About two-thirds of the world's population will be located in urban areas by 2050, creating serious implications for the conservation of natural resources, according to the 2012 edition of the Nature's Living Planet Report.

The report, released by the Beijing branch of the World Wild Fund (WWF) on Tuesday, said increasing demand for natural resources by a growing population is putting tremendous pressure on the planet's diversity.

The report used the global Living Planet Index to assess the planet's ecosystems by tracking more than 9,000 populations of more than 2,688 species... Read more..

FirstCarbon Selected by Mahindra Satyam for Sustainability Monitoring

FirstCarbon Solutions, a pioneer and industry leader in environmental sustainability solutions for business, today announced a services agreement with Mahindra Satyam, a leading technology outsourcing firm that provides services to Fortune 500 companies around the globe. Through this partnership, Mahindra Satyam will offer FirstCarbon Solutions' sustainability and environmental consulting solutions and software services initially in the United Kingdom with plans to expand into other areas in which Mahindra Satyam operates.

In addition to offering its existing UK-based clients... Read more..

Welspun wins solar project in Madhya Pradesh

Welspun Group, the country's largest solar power developer, has won a 125 MW solar photovoltaic project in Madhya Pradesh, a top company official said today.

"We bid Rs 8.05 per unit to bag the 125 megawatts (MW) out of 200 MW that was auctioned by the Madhya Pradesh government," Welspun Energy Ltd Managing Director Vineet Mittal said here.

After the formal award of the project, Welspun Solar Madhya Pradesh Pvt Ltd will put up one solar photovoltaic project of 100 MW and another of 25 MW capacity.

Mittal said the project will cost about $225 million and will be set up... Read more..

Energy-intensive sectors turn to saving

The Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme to encourage energy saving in energy intensive sectors such as power, steel and cement has begun to attract companies to its fold, according to CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Government of India, has included cement manufacturers among top nine energy consuming sectors which require efforts to improve efficiencies and bring down power consumption.

Mr. K.S.Venkatagiri, Principal Counsellor, at the Centre said 500 companies have been identified as top consumers of power accounting for... Read more..