Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Subsidized Gas Undercuts India's Renewable Energy Target, Minister Says

Cooking gas subsidized by the government is undercutting India’s efforts to roll out fuel produced from renewable sources such as agricultural waste, a government minister said.

India has installed plants in the last four years that can produce 930,712 cubic meters of gas from manure and other agricultural refuse, according to a written answer to parliament today from Minister of New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah.

That fell short of targets in part because of the increasing availability of subsidized liquid petroleum gas, Abdullah said.

India spent an estimated... Read more..

Panel suggests 15% increase in urban development funding

The government needs to scale up urban development funding by at least 15% per annum in the 12th Plan (2011-17) to meet the challenges of rapid urbanisation in the country, an expert committee has said.

Citing the need for an investment of 32.4 lakh crore over a period of 20 years, the committee has suggested that the government needs to increase spending and revamp existing schemes to enhance urbanisation.

The expert committee, headed by economist Isher Ahluwalia, submitted its report to urban development minister Kamal Nath and housing and poverty alleviation minister Selja... Read more..

Himachal to set up climate study centre

Himachal Pradesh will set up a centre to study the impact of the changing environment on climate, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said Wednesday.

The centre will promote research and generate scientific database relating to the sectors that are vulnerable to climate change like agriculture, horticulture and forests, Dhumal said during his budget speech in the assembly.

“Besides carrying out research in the areas of disaster management and glaciers, it will also work towards evolving appropriate strategies towards climate change,” the chief minister added.

Dhumal said... Read more..

M&M, SsangYong Motor may team up for electric vehicles

Mahindra & Mahindra may team up with SsangYong Motor in an attempt to bolster its electric vehicles' business as rising fuel prices have triggered demand for eco-friendly products.

India's largest utility vehicle maker plans to collaborate with SsangYong Motor to produce the latter's electric variant of the crossover model, Korando, signalling the first step towards a synergistic approach, said people with direct knowledge of the development.

SsangYong displayed the electric variant of Korando at the recently-concluded Geneva Motors Show. M&M, which took management... Read more..

CLP India bets big on wind power and eyes foray into solar power

Private power player CLP India said that it plans to enhance its wind power portfolio by 200 to 300 MW every year over the next three years and is besides mulling an entry into solar power in the next two years.

The official said that CLP India which owns and operates a 655-MW gas power plant near Bharuch in Gujarat, has already obtained approval to expand this by 1,000 MW and is presently awaiting allocation of gas for the project.

Mr Rajiv Mishra MD of CLP India said that "Our plan is to increase our wind energy portfolio by 200 to 300 MW every year over the next three-... Read more..

China Plans Cap-and-Trade Trials to Help Control Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This past week, Premier of China Wen Jiabao announced that China would start actively working to cut its carbon emissions while still continuing its economic development. Jiabao stated that China would specifically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced per each unit of economic development by 16 percent to 17 percent by the end of 2015. China is the world's largest carbon dioxide producer, putting it ahead of the United States.

In light of this recent announcement, China has officially announced one of the first steps it would take to reduce these emissions. The National... Read more..

Carmakers bet on green technology to offset costly fuel

Carmakers across the world, including India's Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, are chasing green technologies such as hybrid and electric vehicles to cope with rising oil prices.

India's top automaker Tata Motors will launch its Indica Vista EV, an electric car based on its largest-selling Indica platform, in the UK, Norway and Denmark soon, while Mahindra & Mahindra will globally launch Reva NXR car based on the new-generation lithium-ion battery later this year.

Ultra-luxury carmaker Rolls Royce has showcased its first electric car, 102 EX Phantom, at the... Read more..

SMC plans e-waste disposal facility in Surat

With increasing usage of computers and various ancillary products, electronic waste is becoming a cause of concern, as there are limited facilities available for its disposal.

Now, Surat Municipal Corporation, with the help of a private company, has taken an initiative to ensure proper disposal of e-waste. Though the entire project is still in the planning stage, the project will be prepared on PPP basis.

The initiative to collect and dispose e-waste has been taken by a company, Gujarat Enviro Protection Infrastructure Ltd (GEPIL). SMC has also taken part in the initiative... Read more..

Indo-US centre on clean energy soon

A clean energy research and development centre a joint venture between the ministry of science and technology and the US department of energy will be launched soon, said Indo-US science and technology forum executive director Arabinda Mitra on Friday. 

He was speaking at the Indo-US workshop on the critical global challenge: managing water resources for food security and sustainability organised here the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and University of Nebraska Robert B Daugherty Water for Food Institute. 

Mitra said the priority areas of the centre would... Read more..

Green energy to drive tower cos' biz

Telecom tower companies are beginning to use green and efficient alternatives in renewable energy, especially in rural areas where electricity is scarce, opening up new business avenues worth over $1 billion for clean energy equipment makers. 

Indian telecom infrastructure companies, including Indus Towers, American Tower Company, GTL and Viom Networks (erstwhile Tata Quippo), that depend heavily on diesel generators to power more than 3.5 lakh towers across India, are conducting pilot tests on solar, wind energy, bio-diesel and fuel cell-based equipment and rolling out clean... Read more..

Global Ecology Executes LOI for Thermal Solar Energy Project in India

Global Ecology Corporation (OTCQB: GLEC) announced today that it has executed a Letter of Intent with Esoft Informatics, Pvt. Ltd., of Noida, India for the development of a thermal solar energy project in India.

Under the terms of the agreement, Global Ecology will form a U.S. subsidiary, GEC Energy Corporation, to be jointly owned by Esoft and Global Ecology.

Upon completion of definitive documents, GEC Energy Corporation will be assigned the rights to a $25 million Standby Letter of Credit from a AAA rated U.S. trust which will assist GEC Energy Corp. to secure... Read more..

Biofuels only major way to decarbonizes road fuel: BP

Biofuels represent the only way to significantly reduce carbon emissions in road transport fuel and are likely to account for at least 12 percent of supply by 2030, an official with oil giant BP said on Wednesday.

"There is no other alternative that I can really subscribe to in terms of decarbonizing road transport," Olivier Mace, head of strategy, regulatory affairs and communications at BP unit BP Biofuels, told a conference organized by Agra Europe.

Mace said that electricity may play a role "one day" and biogas may also be in the mix, but "to get into 10 percent,... Read more..