Sustainability Outlook Headlines

More focus needed on energy-efficient appliances

“While there has been a proactive implementation of solar power projects across the Southern districts, there needs to be more focus on energy efficient appliances which help livelihoods,” said Harish Hande, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee in 2011 for his work on solar power and Managing Director of Selco India Limited, who was in the city on Wednesday.
 
“While all the focus with regard to solar energy is on distributing panels, there is a need for innovation with regard to energy efficient sewing machines, rice mills and more such machines which will give people in the lower economic... Read more..

Work On 750 MW Solar Power Project In India Progressing Well

The Indian government is planning an excellent gift for the nation on its 69th Independence Day next year. The Solar Energy Corporation of India is working to have the first phase of what is being dubbed as the world’s largest solar power project commissioned by 15th August 2016. SECI hopes that following auctions, 250 MW of solar photovoltaic power capacity would be commissioned in Madhya Pradesh.
 
The capacity would be a third of the total installed capacity planned for possibly the first ultra mega solar power project in India. A total of 750 MW capacity has been planned by... Read more..

‘Zero Effect, Zero Defect’ model to rate and handhold one million small and medium enterprises

The government is set to launch a 'Zero Effect, Zero Defect' model to rate and handhold one million small and medium enterprises over the next three to five years to deliver top quality products using clean technology. 
 
The move is in line with the Prime Minister's pitch for high quality local manufacturing and Make in India campaign. Deriving its name from Narendra Modi's speech, zero-effect, zero defect, the 'ZED maturity model' is being jointly worked out by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and... Read more..

PTC India Fin Services to focus on renewable energy projects

PTC India Financial Services plans to focus on lending to the renewable energy sector and ensure that the sector accounts for 50 per cent of its total exposure by March 2016, up from the current 38 per cent.
 
“One of the reasons for the focus on the renewable energy sector is that the huge variety of options possible in terms of lending to the projects. From one MW to 50 MW, the projects are of different sizes. More importantly, such projects achieve financial closure very quickly and are set up fast,” said RM Malla, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, PTC India... Read more..

PMC to use garbage to fuel burners in industries

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has abundance of one raw material which could be of great utility to the industry — garbage. 
 
Unable to offload its over-flowing bins, the PMC's solid waste management department has thought of providing mix and dry waste to industries for running burners. The administration is convincing local industries to replace wood/coal fired fuel with garbage. 
 
Over 7,000 tonne waste is lying unattended in different processing plans across the city since January 1. The processing plants in Uruli-Phursungi have either shut down or are... Read more..

Maharashtra okays central scheme to distribute solar pumps to farmers

Maharashtra government will implement the central scheme of distributing solar pumps to farmers in the state on pilot basis. The approval to implement the scheme was given in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here today, wherein sanction is given to distribute 7540 solar pumps as a pilot project, with an estimated expenditure of Rs 445 crore.
 
"The Cabinet decided to allocate five per cent of its share, i.e. Rs 22.25 crore from the Green Energy Fund towards implementation of the same," said an official from the Chief Minister's Office.
 ... Read more..

Microgrid Investments Are Advancing Smart Grid 2.0: What Internet of Things Investors Need to Know

The Internet of Things will have many impacts on our daily lives and some may do so in invisible ways. One impact could be in energy and the next generation of the electric grid. 

As more homeowners and businesses become energy producers with solar energy and small-scale wind, they create a problem for electric utilities and an opportunity for new technologies to impact our energy future. Buildings may produce enough energy to power their own home or business, but it's not necessarily at the time they need power. So, homeowners and businesses alike need the electric grid to... Read more..

BEE to study impact of advancing IST by half an hour

India is a power-starved country and the demand for energy is exponentially increasing every year. Given the premise, what could be the most efficient way to conserve energy? Advancing Indian Standard Time by half an hour might be the answer, believes the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), an agency that comes under the ministry of power. The organisation, that is also responsible for assigning star ratings to consumer goods, invited proposals from agencies that have experience in undertaking assessment of social impact to study the non-energy effects of advancing Indian Standard Time (IST... Read more..

Gigawatts-plus approach

The UPA government had launched an ambitious solar mission as part of the national action plan on climate change. This was to establish 20,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity by 2022, up from the present level of around 3,000MW. The low-carbon growth roadmap prepared by an expert group set up by the erstwhile Planning Commission had recommended a capacity of some 100,000MW by the year 2030. The Narendra Modi government has just revised these numbers and announced a goal of 100,000MW by 2022 itself. This will be a global watershed actually. This would not only help moderate the growth of our... Read more..

SunEdison and GRID alternatives announce major solar workforce initiative

SunEdison and the SunEdison Foundation contribute $5 million to train women and members of underserved communities for jobs in the solar industry.
 
SunEdison, Inc. and the SunEdison Foundation, today announced a $5 million contribution to their philanthropic partnership with GRID Alternatives, the nation's largest non-profit solar installer. Together, the organizations are launching a two-year initiative called RISE to connect the industry's growing demand for skilled workers with communities that need jobs, and to build a more inclusive solar workforce. Building on the... Read more..

Experts debate advisory during green emergency

A committee of scientists and air quality experts who have developed an air quality index (AQI) for Central Pollution Control Board are in a dilemma about what advisory the government should issue when there is "hazardous or severe" air quality in a city. When the concentration of PM2.5 (fine pollution particles) crosses 250 micrograms per cubic metre, it is described as 'severe' and is considered a health emergency. Will the state governments urge schools to close or shut down some industries to minimize people's exposure to air pollution on such foul air days? 
 
The ministry... Read more..

Modi bets on GM crops for India's second green revolution

 On a fenced plot not far from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home, a field of mustard is in full yellow bloom, representing his government's reversal of an effective ban on field trials of genetically modified (GM) food crops. The GM mustard planted in the half-acre field in the grounds of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi is in the final stage of trials before the variety is allowed to be sold commercially, and that could come within two years, scientists associated with the project say.
 
India placed a moratorium on GM eggplant in 2010 fearing... Read more..