Sustainability Outlook Headlines

India; third largest investment destination for renewables

India is the third most favoured destination globally for investments in the renewable energy sector and will also be a major source of new entrants into the sector, behind the U.S. and China, according to a survey released by global consulting firm KPMG.

The top five targeted countries for renewable energy investment are the U.S., selected by 53 percent of respondents, China (38 percent), India (35 percent) Germany (34 percent) and the UK (33 percent)," according to KPMG's annual survey of global renewable energy mergers and acquisitions titled Green Power 2011.

"... Read more..

No brakes on industrial pollution: Govt report

Uttar Pradesh is not home to intense industrial activity, yet it has been found to have undesirable levels of pollution.
According to State of the Environment Report-2010 released by the state government on World Environment Day on Sunday, the technologies used in industries in UP, barring a limited number of recently set up industrial plants, are old and in many cases redundant.

According to the report, prepared by Environment Directorate, many industrial units with old technologies have unacceptably high emission and effluent loads. For example, around 115 sugar industries... Read more..

Targray and Momentive Target Expansion in Growing Indian Market with Offer of Best-In-Class Silicone Sealant and Potting solutions

Targray Technology International, Inc. announces that it has expanded its global distribution agreement with Momentive Performance Materials Inc. to include the Photovoltaic market in India. This addition completes the global coverage agreement with Momentive for the distribution of the only Solar industry-specific silicone potting, sealing and adhesive products.

“The PV industry in India is high growth and we see this as a strategic market with terrific potential for many years to come,” states Dan Murray, VP Solar Division at Targray. “Our significant market share on other... Read more..

Green power is helpful but integrated energy policy needed

While the state of energy sector in the country is grim and no amount of attention seems to ease the sector, a lot of efforts are being put to use energy efficiently and turn to green power.
The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), in association with the ministry of new and renewable energy and Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited, will organise a two-day convention on green power and its generation in the city beginning Tuesday.

CII chairman of Karnataka state council S Chandrashekhar, who is also the managing director of Bhoruka Power Corporation, spoke... Read more..

Next time you go shopping in Gujarat, look for the 'eco-label'

The next time you want to buy an environment-friendly product, look for the ‘eco-label’ on which the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) has been working for some time.

The ‘eco-label’ that would be issued by a CIIE panel to certify that a particular product was environment friendly, is the first effort in India to test products and services for their ‘eco-friendliness’, beyond the routine audits for energy efficiency.

The assessment of product for its eco-friendliness will be done only when sought by its manufacturer. The label would be given only... Read more..

Pioneers in Water Purification Honored with Inventor Award

The European Patent Office, in cooperation with the Hungarian EU Council Presidency and the European Commission, awarded the 2011 European Inventor Award, Europe's most prestigious innovation prize, to Indian Americans Ashok Gadgil and Vikas Garud during at May 19 ceremony at the Academy of Sciences here.

Gadgil, of the University of California/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Garud, of WaterHealth International (USA/India), were honored for their pioneering work of employing ultraviolet light in the purification of water.

 Using gravity and a carefully planned... Read more..

Pay 4 paise more, get green energy

Have a penchant for renewable energy? If you pay four paise per unit more, you will get solar power to your house blended with other forms of energy.

To encourage use of renewable energy, Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has made it mandatory for electricity supply companies (Escoms) to purchase 0.25 per cent of total power consumption from solar energy.

KERC chairman M R Sreenivasa Murthy announced this at 10th Green Power 2011 - a conference and exposition on renewable energy organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry on Tuesday. "Already, it is... Read more..

Uncertain policies and regulatory hurdles hinder renewable energy sector

India's renewable energy sector, a key plank of the country's plan to cut emissions, is feeling the pinch of policy uncertainty and regulatory hurdles, unsettling entrepreneurs who were gearing for spectacular growth.

Renewable power producers were enthused by the National Action Plan on Climate Change ( NAPCC), which had set a target of boosting the share of renewables in India's energy mix to 15%.

However, the Ministry for Renewable Energy's new strategic plan has scaled it down to 6%. The current share is about 3.5-4%

Ads by Google
Renewable energy sources... Read more..

IIM-A to certify 'green products'

Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), will help customers identify eco-friendly products. In an initiative to support such products and environment-friendly manufacturing processes in the country, IIM-A will certify products and mark them with a label.

Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM-A has decided to test and certify eco-friendliness of products. A label has been developed to distinguish the products and IIM-A will formally release it on Wednesday.

Once a companies applies for the certification, CIIE will probe into the... Read more..

UN says climate talks will miss Kyoto deadline

Small island states, at risk from rising seas due to climate change, hinted on Tuesday at a compromise in order to kick-start U.N. talks on reaching a binding deal to curb global warming.

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which represents 43 countries, said it could consider pledges on emissions cuts made voluntarily by rich nations if they were made into legally-binding targets.

The group has consistently demanded that industrialized countries toughen pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions they made at a climate conference last year in Cancun, Mexico.

The... Read more..

Tropical 'hotspots' may get too warm

Climate change is on track to disrupt lifeline food crops across large swathes of Africa and Asia already mired in chronic poverty, according to an international study released on Friday.

More than 350 million people face a "perfect storm" of conditions for potential food disaster, warns the report by scientists in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Temperature increases projected by UN climate scientists could, by 2050, shorten growing seasons below critical thresholds, worsen weather variability, and render many regions dominated by... Read more..

India improves, but still ranks 123 on green chart

India’s performance on global environment index has improved earning it the 123th rank, primarily because of progress made in renewables. And, this has earned kudos for India’s green industry from United Nations Environment Programme executive Director Achim Steiner. “India has invested a lot in gre en economy,” Steiner said, while addressing Indian industry in the Capital on Friday but wanted the industry to raise the bar.

This comes after a global environment performance index released recently ranked India at 123 among 165 nations, a jump of three positions as compared to... Read more..