Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Gamesa to Supply $2 Billion of Turbines to Caparo for Indian Wind Projects

Gamesa Corp. Tecnologica SA, Europe’s second-largest wind-turbine maker, agreed to supply $2 billion of wind turbines to Indian renewable-energy developer Caparo Energy Ltd. (CEL) in the nation’s largest order ever.

Spain’s biggest windmill manufacturer said it will deliver the turbines by 2016 in a press release today. The 2,000- megawatt order is India’s largest to date, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“It’s for about $2 billion,” Ramesh Kymal, managing director of Gamesa’s India unit, told a press conference in Mumbai. “We’ve received an upfront payment in line... Read more..

GM India may produce electric mini-car

The company plans to come up with an electric car soon after it showcases the model next month in the country. The company will also introduce a diesel variant of its small car Beat with a 1.0-litre engine in June. The prices of the variant are expected to be 10-15 per cent higher than the existing petrol version.

"We will be showcasing an electric mini-car in June. This car has been developed in the US and is meant for a global audience," said General Motors India President and MD Karl Slym. The company is likely to unveil the car on June 5, which coincides with World Environment... Read more..

Aviation Carbon Suit to Stir Trade Tension at Durban Talks, Derwent Says

A lawsuit by U.S. airlines arguing against inclusion in the European Union carbon market probably will stir tension at December climate talks, said Henry Derwent, the International Emissions Trading Association president.

U.S. airlines including United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) and the Air Transport Association of America are arguing July 5 in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg that the bloc’s inclusion of carriers in the market starting next year exceeds its jurisdiction and amounts to an improper tax or charge, according to the trade group.

Chinese airlines’... Read more..

No need for environmental nod for solar PV plants

India's ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has exempted the solar PV farms coming up in the country from having to seek environment clearance.

India is in the midst of a massive program to increase its grid-connected solar power generation capacity from around 20 million watts at the end of the 2010 to 20,000 million watts by 2020.

The addition is expected to comprise of photo voltaic (PV) farms -- the typical solar installation -- and other technologies like thermal or steam and turbine based solar farms.

The government is in the process of entering into power... Read more..

Wipro's Azim Premji parks $15 million in Vinod Khosla's clean-tech fund

 In his first ever investment overseas, Wipro's billionaire chairman Azim Premji has invested around $15 million in Vinod Khosla's clean-tech fund in the US, the biggest such fund focused on returns from Silicon Valley's hottest start-ups.

With nearly $1.5 billion corpus, Premji Invest, the investment arm that manages the Wipro founder's wealth, now plans to look beyond India for diversifying its portfolio and also tap into lucrative opportunities offered by new technology companies in the US.

"Risk appetites are higher in the valley, and so are returns if you are betting... Read more..

Mundra UMPP 1st phase to be ready in Sept

With the first phase of the Tatas' Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP) at Mundra ready for commissioning some time in September this year, Gujarat is all set to get another 400 MW to its installed capacity, nearly 13,000 MW. Well-placed Sachivalaya sources said the first phase of the plant, with an installed capacity of 1,000 MW, is ready and will be commissioned, "as scheduled", with Gujarat getting 40 per cent of its share. Rest of the power will be sold to Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab.

"Thanks to efforts by the Gujarat government for creating a congenial atmosphere for... Read more..

Commission on Sustainable Development

The Commission on Sustainable Development ended its nineteenth session early Saturday morning, unable to agree on policy decisions on practical measures to advance chemical and waste management, transform transport and mining practices, and establish a long-awaited 10-Year Framework of Programmes for sustainable consumption and production patterns, which was first called for at the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development.

After lengthy discussions and several suspensions, Commission members declined to adopt a draft outcome document that was submitted by its Chair László... Read more..

Solar May Equal Cost of Producing Coal Power by 2017 in India, KPMG Says

India, Asia’s third-largest energy consumer, may be able to produce electricity from the sun as cheaply as from coal and other fossil fuel-based power plants by 2017, according to KPMG LLP.

India may install three times as much solar capacity as the government intends by 2022 if sun-powered electricity is able to match the cost of conventional power, a point referred to as grid parity, said KPMG’s Executive Director Santosh Kamath, lead author of a solar report to be released this week.

“We are heading for grid parity and it’s just a question of when,” Kamath, who heads the... Read more..

HMDA looks at Bengaluru city model

The final approval of the proposed development master plan of HMDA extended jurisdiction, has been put on hold by the Chief Minister, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy. At the HMDA board meeting, which was held on May 9, the CM made certain changes in the HMDA development master plan, including enhancing the green cover in the city. The CM has suggested focusing on growth of the Green Belt area in the HMDA master plan. He also wanted to widen the proposed Regional Ring Road. To enhance the green cover, the CM had suggested that HMDA study the innovative and ecologically sustainable Bengaluru... Read more..

Orissa UMPP gets green clearance

The 4,000 mega watt Bedabahal ultra mega power project (UMPP) in Orissa, which has been held up because of want of clearances from the government, has finally received the green signal from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).

All the three coal blocks associated with the UMPP- Meenakshi A, Meenakshi B and the dipside of Meenakshi-lie in the go area where mining is permitted, the ministry has said.

The permission has come after the power ministry, in its bid to salvage the UMPP and restore investor confidence, worked out a compromise formula with the MoEF to get... Read more..

Hyderabad vendors recycle plastic bottles

In a bid to cut down the use of plastic and to reduce environmental pollution, local vendors in Hyderabad recycled plastic bottles at a recycling unit.n the recycling unit, plastic bottles pass through a series of process like grinding, shredding and washing.

"The local vendor collects all the PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles from malls or from households and everywhere. Then, there is a particular middle man. They buy bottles from these vendors. And then they make the bailing or they combat the bottles and then are supplied to the washing lines or may be to the fibre... Read more..

Future group working on unique model for malls

In view of steadily rising material and land prices in India, the Future Group, which owns the Big Bazaar chain of retail stores, is contemplating an innovative and unique model of mall development that will help both the retailer and the developer boost its bottom line growth, a top official of the Group said.

The Future Group has already worked out on a format and will start developing malls over the next 3-4 months, the official said.

"We are working on a model that is economically viable and at the same time is retailer friendly. We will have something concrete on this in... Read more..