Sustainability Outlook Headlines

GE makes first green power investment in India

Greenko Group Plc, a London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market-listed renewable energy company, and GE (General Electric) Energy Financial Services willdevelop 500 mw of wind power in India at an investment of $115 million (`563 crore), the latter announced on Monday.

The venture, called Greenko Wind Project Pvt Ltd, will be a subsidiary of Greenko, which will invest $65 million. GE will pump in the remaining $50 million.

The proposed 500 mw will be part of Greenko’s targeted installed capacity of 1.6 gigawatts (gw) of wind, small hydro and biomass projects by... Read more..

UN May Extend Kyoto Protocol Without Canada, Japan, Russia, Figueres Says

United Nations climate negotiators in Durban, South Africa, next month may seek to extend the Kyoto Protocol, excluding Canada, Japan and Russia, said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s top climate diplomat.

The European Union’s conditional willingness to extend “has been exceedingly helpful by building a bridge” between developed and developing nations, Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Climate Change, said today in London.

Government envoys meet in Durban next month to work out a way to extend or replace Kyoto, a treaty capping greenhouse gases whose targets... Read more..

DTC buses to run on biofuel

Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses will soon be running on fuel derived from vegetable waste and sludge from treated sewage. The Centre has struck a deal with the Swedish government to set up a compressed biofuel plant at Delhi Jal Board's Keshopur sewage treatment plant (STP).

The fuel produced at the plant, which will start functioning in two years, will be cleaner and cheaper than CNG, a Jal Board official said.

He said they are stuck with a mounting pile of sludge at their STPs, with no way of disposing it. "At several plants we have started biogas production, which... Read more..

Cloud hangs over climate finance

An impasse in global climate talks is casting a shadow on clean energy financing in the developing world, with growing doubts over a program that has funded billions of dollars in projects.

UN-led negotiations involving nearly 200 nations are struggling to come up with a framework after 2012, when wealthy countries' commitments to cut carbon emissions blamed for climate change run out under the landmark Kyoto Protocol.

A signature feature of Kyoto is the Clean Development Mechanism -- or CDM in the talks' jargon -- which allows countries to meet their obligations by financing... Read more..

Challenges of mobility

The Indian passenger vehicle market is one of the world's top 10 markets. It had 2.52 million units in 2010-11 and is expected to grow at approximately 13 per cent over the next five years, making it one of the fastest growing markets for passenger cars worldwide. What is going to drive this spurt in passenger vehicles in India is a low the current low car penetration level of 13 passenger vehicles per 1,000 people.

According to a recent study by Frost and Sullivan on the future of mobility in India, and the implications for automotive companies, while the per capita population of... Read more..

Nanomaterials To Generate Electricity From ‘Waste Heat’

Australian researchers have developed nanomaterials that can generate electricity directly from ‘waste heat.’ The research has been published in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters.
Waste heat is also known as the secondary heat or low-grade heat which is produced by machines, electrical equipment and industrial processes. It is a byproduct of nearly all electrical devices and industrial processes from driving a car to flying an aircraft or operating a power plant.

Now  a University of Wollongong team based at the Innovation Campus along with engineering... Read more..

BELECTRIC installs India’s first solar power plant with First Solar thin-film technology

BELECTRIC Photovoltaic India, a subsidiary of the global market leader BELECTRIC, connected India's first solar power plant in Sri City (Andhra Pradesh province) with First Solar thin-film technology to the grid. The project has been realized in close cooperation with the investor Sri Power and First Solar, the leading thin-film module manufacturer. Since the end of February 2011 – following a four-month construction period – the solar power plant, which is part of the CO2-free city project, has been generating an annual total of 1,660,000 kWh of clean energy that could supply around 7,000... Read more..

No place for polluters in new industrial zones

Polluting industries will be kept out of mega industrial towns proposed under the upcoming national manufacturing policy, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said, allaying fears of some ministries over relaxation of environment and labour laws in these zones."We are very clear that the schedule A industries will be kept out of the proposed industrial towns. We don't want polluting industries... rest is for the states to do," Sharma told ET in an interview.

 The ministries of environment and labour had opposed the proposed manufacturing policy, stalling its rollout last month. A group of... Read more..

Nanomaterials To Generate Electricity From ‘Waste Heat’

Waste heat is also known as the secondary heat or low-grade heat which is produced by machines, electrical equipment and industrial processes. It is a byproduct of nearly all electrical devices and industrial processes from driving a car to flying an aircraft or operating a power plant.

Now  a University of Wollongong team based at the Innovation Campus along with engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York have developed new nanomaterials that could lead to techniques for better capturing and putting this waste heat to work.

The key ingredients for... Read more..

Carrier Helps Grow Green Building Movement with Comprehensive Global Education Initiative

Carrier, the world's leader in high technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions and a part of United Technologies Corp. (UTX), recognizes that well-trained green building professionals are at the core of transforming the built environment for a more sustainable future. With buildings consuming 40 percent of energy use around the world today, the company has developed a comprehensive educational initiative to nurture the green building movement on every corner of the globe.

Carrier's global educational initiative has trained thousands of industry... Read more..

Seven indian energy companies chosen finalists

Seven Indian energy companies. including Indraprastha Gas Limited, Reliance Industries Ltd, GAIL India Pvt.Ltd., Indian Oil Corporation Limited, and Cairn India Limited. have been chosen as finalists under various categories in the Platts Global Energy Awards.

The award function would be held on December one, this year, according to a release here today.

The 2011 finalists, drawn from 19 countries and chosen from more than 200 nominations, were announced today by program host Platts, the leading global provider of energy information.

Established in 1999 and often... Read more..

Climate talks eye revenue from shipping

With nations facing gaping shortfalls meeting pledges on climate change, several governments and activist groups are pushing to put a price on shipping emissions to fund aid to poor countries.

With nations facing gaping shortfalls meeting pledges on climate change, several governments and activist groups are pushing to put a price on shipping emissions to fund aid to poor countries.

Commercial ships virtually always run on fossil fuels and produce nearly three percent of the world's carbon emissions blamed for climate change -- twice as much as Australia -- but are... Read more..