Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Model waste management project faces closure in Bangalore

One of the well-managed waste management programmes in the city, financed by the Norwegian government and appreciated by many people, is on the verge of closure, thanks to the apathy of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

The waste management committee (WMC) was started by Kalayannagar Residents’ Welfare Association (KRWA) with support from the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Centre for Environment Education in 1999. The Norwegian government had provided financial assistance. The project aimed to collect household waste daily and compost organic and... Read more..

Behrampur sewage treatment plant polluting Yamuna water’

A resident of Malibu Towne has written to the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department, complaining against the Behrampur sewage treatment plant (STP), which he alleged is adding a huge quantity of untreated effluent waste to the Yamuna river in the capital on a daily basis.'' The smell and the colour of the effluent is an indication enough how bad the situation is in the plant," said Raman Sharma, who has written to the financial commissioner of TCP, to complain about the situation.The STP was built at a cost of Rs 20 crore for treating sewerage waste generated from different HUDA... Read more..

Despite govt support, Goa far from Chaka Chak

The capital city started a 'binless city' campaign almost a decade ago, and achieved success in door-to-door collection of garbage.

Thanks to Corporation of the city of Panaji (CCP), the sight of overspilling garbage bins full of rotting wastes became a thing of the past. This is just one of a few initiatives, and the first in Goa, which produced replicable models for other civic bodies and panchayats to take up.

But though the government has extended all financial assistance to them, local self-governing bodies have shown little interest in utilizing funds to control the... Read more..

Alex Green Energy Wins India Solar Project With Record-Low Bid

Alex Green Energy, a Kolkata-based developer of clean-energy plants, won the right to develop a 5- megawatt project in a solar auction in India’s eastern Odisha state, pledging to supply power at a record-low rate.

Alex Green has the option to develop the remaining 20 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity from the auction before it’s offered to other bidders, P.K. Mohan, chief executive officer of the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency, the state-run body overseeing the solar program, said by telephone today.

Under auction rules, Alex Green must complete the project by... Read more..

First Solar bagging most of India’s National Solar Mission projects, says Deutsche Bank analyst

Thin-film market leader and number 2 ranked PV module supplier First Solar is said to have almost secured around 80–90% of projects (200MW-plus) under India’s 2012 National Solar Mission projects, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Vishal Shah. Shah was cited in an investor note previewing First Solar’s fourth quarter results to be issued February 28th.

The analyst also noted that First Solar is also working with several other Indian state governments, with projects estimated to be worth over 200MW. In total, Shah believes India could represent over 20% of First Solar’s production... Read more..

National Mission on clean coal technologies on cards

The Government will soon start a ‘National Mission on Clean Coal Technologies', its ninth under the National Action Plan for Climate Change, Dr R. Chidambaram, Scientific Advisor to Government of India, said here today.

The Mission will foster work on Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC), Advanced Ultra Supercritical technology and Carbon Capture and Sequestration, among other areas, Dr Chidambaram said, while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the fourth edition of the Conference on ‘Automotive R&D Trends 2015', organised by the Confederation of Indian... Read more..

India will be world's 3rd largest economy by 2030

India will be world's third largest economy by 2030 but its energy demand will slow down to 4.5 per cent, global energy giant BP plc (one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies) said today.

"By 2030 China and India will be the world's largest and third largest economies and energy consumers, jointly accounting for about 35 per cent of global population, GDP and energy demand," BP's chief economist Christof Ruhl said releasing BP's Energy Outlook 2030.

There would be "no surge in energy demand as India industrialises. Demand growth slows to 4.5 per cent per... Read more..

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) Projects — The Only Viable Solution to Overcome Energy Deficits in the Country – notes Frost & Sullivan

India’s strategic geographical location enables it to tap the vast potential for solar power generation, with about 300 clear sunny days in a year. By 2050, about 69 percent of the electricity produced in India will come from renewables like solar energy.

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are photovoltaic materials used to replace conventional building materials (such as glass facades/panels, or aluminum cladding/structural glazing, and so on) in parts of the building envelope. The concept of BIPV is new and at a very nascent stage in India. BIPV are increasingly being used... Read more..

India and ADB Sign an Agreement for US $100 Million ADB Loan for Gujarat Solar Power Transmission System

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed an agreement for a $100 million ADB loan to develop a transmission system that will distribute 500 megawatts of solar power from the Charanka Solar Park in Gujarat.

Using an innovative public private partnership (PPP) model, the project will create job opportunities, improve social services and contribute to poverty reduction locally. It will also support power distribution companies in Gujarat and other Indian power utilities to meet part of their clean energy procurement obligations through solar energy.... Read more..

CLP says may consider listing India unit

Regional power utility CLP Holdings Ltd (0002.HK) said on Monday that it will consider listing its India business to raise funds for further expansion there.

"Our Indian business may at some stage make demands on CLP Holdings' capital on a scale beyond what we are prepared to fund ourselves," CLP said in its 2011 annual report. "In due course, we will consider a local listing."

The company added that it was too early to provide an estimate on the timing or size of the possible listing.

The company also said it might bring in partners on future projects in India to ease... Read more..

No growth at the cost of environment, says Kerala CM

The State Government does not see sense in unbridled growth at the cost of environment, according to the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy.

Delivering his inaugural address an international seminar on climate change, he said that the State has already had to pull the plug on a slew of ambitious hydro-electric projects due to environmental concerns.

RISING DEMAND

“The debate on climate change should not be dominated by dogmas. We should be objective in our approach to assessing contributing factors,” he said.

It is unreasonable to expect developing countries to... Read more..

Twenty Indian cities to switch to BS IV emission norms by 1 Mar

As part of India’s commitment towards cleaner fuel, 17 cities have switched to Bharat Stage 4 (BS IV) emission norms, with three more cities to be added on 1 March.

The cities that will be covered by 1 March are Ankaleshwar (Gujarat), Hissar (Haryana) and Bharatpur (Rajasthan). A total of 50 cities will be covered by 2015. BS IV petrol and diesel have lower sulphur content, a major air pollutant, compared with BS III norms.

“There is a general consensus among the stakeholders that it is better to extend these emission norms to other cities at the earliest. Petroleum ministry... Read more..