Sustainability Outlook Headlines

RSP shuts down two units after OSPCB order

 The Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has shut down one of its sinter plant and a boiler of its captive power plant (CPP) as the Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) denied the steel making unit to give any more time to operate these plant.

“RSP has complied with the directive of SPCB and has shut down the Sinter Plant-I and MP Boiler-3 of CPP-I,” said a statement from the company.

On December 19, the OSPCB had ordered the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) unit to close units of its captive power plant (CPP) and sinter plant for violating environmental norms. The stern... Read more..

Plan to supply treated sewage to industries

The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) plans to set up a tertiary treatment reverse osmosis ( TTRO) plant, where sewage will be treated and supplied to industries. Tenders have been invited for preparing a detailed project report for the proposed 45 Million Litres per Day (MLD) plant at Koyambedu. 

Presently, the board's five sewage treatment plants treat 460 MLD of water which is discharged into the sea after secondary treatment as per Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board norms. 

The secondary treatment is designed to degrade the biological... Read more..

BIS working on nano-technology standard

Gearing up for the future, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is giving priority to standardization in new areas like nanotechnology, energy efficiency, new renewable energy and bio-technology, said Consumer Affairs Minister K.V. Thomas Tuesday.

He said the BIS has been asked to harmonize Indian standards, where feasible, with international standards to provide quality goods and services to the people.

The minister said in order to provide safe and quality food and non-food agricultural products to the consumers, the BIS has formulated a standard, a first in a series... Read more..

Delhi Metro’s steps on climate change bring earnings

 The Delhi Metro is the first rail network in the world to have two projects registered with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Not only has it succeeded in preventing release of almost one lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere but is also earning carbon emission reductions (CERS) under the carbon credit scheme.

At a workshop on Climate Change Financing organised by the UNDP and the department of economic affairs, DMRC managing director Mangu Singh pointed out that in 2007 alone, Delhi Metro had succeeded in helping reduce 17,000 vehicles from plying on the... Read more..

Abound-Solarsis sets up 1Mw plant in AP

 Abound Solar, a US-based manufacturer of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules, and Solar Integrations Systems India Private Limited (Solarsis), a city-based company that offers ‘concept-to-completion’ services for grid-connected and off-grid systems using solar PV technology, have commissioned a 1Mw solar PV plant at Kadiri in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.

The project was commissioned under the Rooftop and Other Small Solar Generation Plant (RPSSGP) scheme administered by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. It is... Read more..

Getting solar-powered

From next year, at least half a dozen government buildings of the Chandigarh administration would largely become solar energy equipped. After preparing a detailed master plan to make Chandigarh solar energy efficient, the Chandigarh administration after a detailed survey has sent a proposal regarding six government buildings and government houses of judges in Sector 24 for approval to the Union government. Initially, the administration had earmarked Rs 19 crore for the project.

The government buildings that would be made solar energy efficient in the first phase are Punjab... Read more..

GMR Energy commissions 25 Mw solar power plant

 GMR Energy Limited (GEL) a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited, has commissioned its first 25 MW Solar Power Plant at Patan district in Gujarat at a cost of Rs 300 crore. This plant also marks GMR Group’s foray into the Renewable Energy space.

The 25 MW grid interactive Solar Power Project was executed through GMR Gujarat Solar Power Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of GMR Energy.

The project was awarded in October 2010 under the Gujarat Solar Policy.

This plant adopts the crystalline PV technology and is situated in the Solar Park set up by the Government of Gujarat, at... Read more..

TANGEDCO wants solar heater mandatory in new houses

 Officials of the Electricity Board here plan to suggest to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission to make provision for solar water heaters mandatory in new residential buildings with a built-up area of more than 1,000 sq.ft. if they have to get power connection.

Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) Chief Engineer A. Thangavelu told The Hindu on Thursday that the Corporation planned to recommend that new electricity service be provided only to those residential units that had provision for solar water heaters. Karnataka had a similar system to... Read more..

Vallabh Bhanshali's Talma Chemical Industries plans to invest Rs 1700 crore in solar power foray

  Vallabh Bhanshali, a storied investment banker who introduced Infosys to the capital markets, has made a unobtrusive but ambitious entry into solar power with plans to invest Rs 1,700 crore in setting up generation capacity of 100 megawatt. 

In 2010, Bhanshali sold the investment banking and brokerage arms of Enam, a domestic financial services firm, to Axis Bank for Rs 2,700 crore and the foray into solar power is the first significant diversification since then, after scrapping plans to raise a Rs 3,500 crore infrastructure fund. 

India's aim to scale up its solar power... Read more..

Soon, panel to tackle equity in climate talks

 The government has decided to set up a strategic advice group of experts on 'equity' in climate change negotiations. The group will advice the government on how to fashion its position in the post-Durban climate talks this year.

It will consist of officials and experts from various ministries and also some specialists from outside the officialdom, sources said.

At the Durban talks in last December, India had been able to ensure that the new climate regime envisaged post-2020 would be done under the existing UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Now, preparations are on... Read more..

Solid waste plant hits roadblock

Noida Authority's long standing plan to set up a solid waste management plant, the first in the city, has run into trouble yet again. Residents living in Sector 122 - the proposed site for the plant - feel that the plant will lead to multiple problems like overbearing stench and an unpleasant view.

In November last year the Authority had zeroed in on Sector 123 as the final site for the plant, but the location had to be changed to a 25-acre plot in Sector 122 following protests from residents of a group housing society in Sector 123.

The plan is in limbo at least till... Read more..

Clean tech sector attracts US, Europe entrepreneurs

Mike Lin, 30, is the founder and CEO of Fenix International, a three-year-old San Franciscobased clean technology startup. For the last few months, he has been travelling across rural India, testing the market for his solar-power products. Fenix's ReadySet, priced at Rs 7,900, is a durable device that can charge phones, medical devices, radios, lights, and batteries, and can itself be recharged using solar power.

Lin is part of the stream of entrepreneurs from the US, Europe and Asia Pacific making a beeline to tap India's clean technology sector, especially the solar power... Read more..