Sustainability Outlook Headlines

India doubles down on solar parks after SunEdison setback

India will double the target for energy to be generated from solar parks by 2020, a top government official said, as roof-top installations progress slower than anticipated and U.S. company SunEdison's projects are threatened by its bankruptcy.

The solar parks are sought after by companies because the Indian government acquires land for the installations and sets up transmission lines, major attractions in a... Read more..

40% of wind power capacity under cloud

Leading wind power producers are facing problems over payments and demand that affect close to 11,000 Mw, or 40 per cent of the wind power generating capacity in the country.

Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are yet to clear payments to wind power producers.

These states, along with Madhya Pradesh (MP... Read more..

UNIDO prepares roadmap for 100 MW concentrated solar thermal

The UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is preparing a road map for 100 MW (megawatt) concentrated solar thermal (CST) capacity for the next five years in India, a top official said.

"We are preparing a road map for 100 MW (megawatt) concentrated solar thermal (CST) capacity for the next five years in India," said UNIDO's National Project Manager Anil Misra on Saturday.

... Read more..

NLC plans 300-Mw solar plant in Odisha

<p><span style="font-size:14px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Chennai-based Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd (NLC), a Navratna public sector undertaking (PSU), has evinced interest in establishing a 300-Mw solar power plant in Odisha's Balasore district. The cost of setting up the plant is not known though creating 1 Mw solar capacity entails an investment of Rs 7-8 crore.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:14px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-... Read more..

Good green technology solutions must be freely available to all

IIT Madras has developed cost effective Green Technology solutions in the building, transport and Solar-DC space. These were either incubated at IIT or developed by companies such as Amara Raja Electronics and Lucas TVS in collaboration with it.

IIT’s focus is on decentralised use of solar power for homes and buildings. Along with IIT Madras Research Park, it has set up solar DC systems that generate power... Read more..

Indian Railways to install solar panels in all railway buildings

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that in the near future, solar panels would be installed in all railway buildings across the nation.

The Minister made this announcement on Sunday when he laid the foundation stone of one Megawatt solar power plant at the Amritsar Railway Station.

The power plant, which would be set up at a cost of Rs. 8 crores, will produce 14 lakh unit of power per year.

Speaking on this occasion, Prabhu... Read more..

Forbes Marshall launches Energy Efficiency Centre at IIT Bombay

Forbes Marshall, India’s leading Steam Engineering, Energy Management and Controls and Instrumentation organisation, launched its Energy Efficiency Centre at IIT Bombay recently.

The centre was inaugurated jointly by Mr. Jehangir Ardeshir, Group CEO, Forbes Marshall and Prof Devang Khakhar, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, in the presence Dr. Ravi Sinha (Dean-Corporate Relations, IIT-B),... Read more..

New way to harvest renewable energy from mobile towers

Scientists have found a way to harvest renewable or ambient energy from mobile phone base stations or communication towers to power battery-operated wireless sensors used in many industries including health and agriculture.

Lead researcher Salman Durrani from The Australian National University (ANU) said current wireless sensors for buildings, biomedical applications or wildlife monitoring use batteries which are often difficult to replace.

In a first, researchers have accurately... Read more..

India’s water reservoirs at 29% capacity in the week to 14 July

Water levels in India’s main reservoirs were at 29% of their storage capacity in the week to 14 July, down 6% percentage points from a year earlier, government data showed on Thursday.

The latest levels matched the last 10 years’ average, but were 11% higher compared with the previous week.

Monsoon rains,... Read more..

Engineers Develop Public Urinals that Generate Electricity

Over the past 16 years, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been working to help people lead healthy, productive lives, specifically in developing countries, where it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of... Read more..

Electrolysed water is most efficient water treatment method: Expert

Experts from Spain on Thursday demonstrated electrolyzed water technology in a one-day workshop on the subject at Raja Balwant Singh Engineering Technical Campus (RBSETC), Bichpuri. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), electrolyzed water is the most efficient non-toxic disinfectant known today.

RBSETC has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Valencia, Spain-based Sana Water Solutions for working on a joint project regarding electrolysed water technology and exchange... Read more..

India to meet climate goals earlier than promised, says outgoing climate chief

India could meet its carbon reduction goals earlier than expected, the country’s outgoing climate minister told a meeting in Delhi on Tuesday.

By 2030, the world’s fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter plans to cut the carbon intensity of GDP up to 35% on 2005 levels and boost the share of clean power in the energy mix to 40%.

... Read more..