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SmartTrak to expand pan-India

Solar tracking systems manufacturer SmartTrak is keen on tapping at least 20 per cent of the 5,000-Mw solar power capacity, set to be commissioned in the country by 2020.
 
“Investments into solar capacity creation are gaining ground in the country for a variety of reasons and we are constantly innovating to make technology affordable for power producers to farmers to set up solar units,” said Bhagawan Reddy Gnanapa, CEO and director of SmartTrak.
 
The annual Rs 60 crore revenue company is “confident of closing the current fiscal with tracking systems orders for... Read more..

Date : Sep 18
Source: Business Standard

DoT may soon order solar-powered tower deployments in North-East

The telecom department (DoT) will shortly mandate deployment of solar powered towers to boost mobile coverage in the Northeast, especially in mountainous regions close to the Chinese border. 
 
DoT's plans to explore alternate energy sources to run mobile towers in the Northeast follows a recent study by the telecom regulator, which revealed major gaps in telecom coverage in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya. 
 
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai) report, Arunachal Pradesh has the highest coverage gap (55.9 per cent),... Read more..

Date : Sep 18
Source: Economic Times

Costlier fossil fuel making solar power attractive for State utilities: ACME Group

Escalating conventional fuel prices is making electricity from solar plants more attractive for State distribution utilities.
 
“States such as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are increasingly looking at solar power even beyond the renewable purchase obligations (RPO) to meet their peak deficit, as the alternative gas-based power project is far more expensive,” Manoj Upadhyay, Founder and Chairman, ACME Group told BusinessLine.
 
“The overall energy deficit in the country is helping solar power since this is the fastest way to add capacity at a moderate tariff,” he... Read more..

Date : Sep 18
Source: Business Line- The Hindu

Pollution around railway tracks: NGT pulls up Railways Min for

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) today pulled up the Ministry of Railways for not filing its reply on the steps to control pollution caused by plastic products and human defecation around railway tracks. 
 
A bench, headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, directed the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and others to file their replies within two weeks after they sought more time. 
 
"We find no justification whatsoever to grant further time. However, in the interest of justice we grant two weeks time by way of last... Read more..

Date : Sep 18
Source: Business Standard

Three lakh LED street-lights across Kolkata soon

After the success of a trial installation of 300 LED street-lights in Kolkata, the energy-saving option will be seen across the entire city soon, an official said Tuesday. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) participated in a unique global trial of LED outdoor lighting organised by The Climate Group (TCG), an international NGO, in 2011-2012. Other collaborators included the West Bengal Pollution Control Board.
 
"After the success of the pilot of our Light Savers project, we are planning to extend it to the entire city which would need about three lakh lights. We are... Read more..

Date : Sep 18
Source: India TV News

Demand for innovative solutions for sustainable agriculture drives Bayer CropScience

Bayer CropScience is optimistic about the development perspectives of the agricultural markets and commits to invest significantly to deliver new solutions for sustainable agriculture. "We are convinced of the long-term growth potential of the agricultural markets despite increasing volatility," said Bayer CropScience CEO Liam Condon at the company’s annual press conference in Monheim, Germany. "We expect the worldwide market for agricultural inputs of crop protection products, seeds and traits to grow to around EUR 100 billion by 2020, up from EUR 50 billion in 2008", Condon forecasts.... Read more..

Date : Sep 18
Source: Fresh Plaza

Ahead of UN Climate Summit, Environmental Report Sees Economic Opportunities

A week before heads of state meet at the United Nations to discuss climate change, a major report on Tuesday from global political, environmental, and industry leaders says it's possible to grow the world economy while tackling global warming.
 
Global leaders "realize there is serious risk of climate change in the future," former Mexican President Felipe Calderón, who chaired the group behind the report, told reporters Thursday. "However there is a general perception that taking responsible actions in order to tackle climate change could reduce economic growth and the creation... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: National Geographic

Climate smart farmers get tech savvy to save India's bread basket

Erratic weather, rising temperatures, declining water resources and labour shortages are threatening India's bread basket state of Haryana, forcing farmers to abandon age-old practices and adopt technology to ensure food supplies for millions.
 
Using machines which sow rice directly, devices to inform when to irrigate and phone messages warning of infestations, thousands of farmers are learning to adapt to climate change, boost soil fertility and reduce their carbon emissions.
 
"At first, many farmers were unsure. It's a big risk to change the way you have farmed... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: Reuters

Waste & Recycling Collection Vehicle Market set to boom in India

The market for solid waste management vehicles in India is projected to achieve a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.6%, between 2014 and 2019, according to a recent market report. The report -India Solid Waste Management Vehicles Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2019 – noted that on an average, around 135,000 tonnes solid waste is generated in India’s urban regions every day.
 
The top six metro cities in India - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata – were said to contribute towards one third of the entire solid waste collection in India. In India,... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: Waste Management World

ET 500: VA Tech Wabag's bet on water and waste water treatment solutions set to pay off

Think of an infrastructure company and there are three basic facets that cross an investor's mind: a debt-laden balance sheet, long-gestation projects that make it difficult to estimate the flow of revenues, and almost inadequate cash on books to make up for any unforeseen losses or payments in the business. This isn't the case with Chennai-based VA Tech Wabag, which provides water and waste water treatment solutions to government bodies and corporates.
 
The company has an asset-light business model in which it provides engineering, design, technology (it owns more than 100... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: Economic Times

How a Text-Powered Smart Grid Solution Is Improving Water Distribution in India

It all started with trying to answer the simple question: "When will I get my water next?" For many people, especially in parts of Europe and North America, the answer is as simple as, "When I turn on my tap." But for three billion others around the world, the answer is much more complicated.
 
The reason is a little thing called intermittent supply. Millions of households in emerging markets have piped water supply; however, in some cases, water is only available for a few hours at a time. For example, in Hubli-Dharwad, a city of 1.1 million people in the state of Karnataka,... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: Huffington Post

Retrofitting Mahindra Towers: ESCO Model Enables Energy Efficiency Savings in India

While in Mumbai recently, home of Mahindra headquarters, the sounds of construction are an ever-present soundtrack for the city. More than ever, people are flocking to India’s cities, where increasing standards of living and rapid urbanization are causing enormous strain on the country’s energy supplies. At the same time, 400 million people in India lack any access to reliable power and much of the population remains vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
 
Today, our NRDC team and our partner, the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), are releasing our latest... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: The Epoch Times

Fixing the cracks in the Himalayas to avert another Kashmir-like tragedy

Uttarakhand, June 2013. Jammu and Kashmir, September 2014. Once the task of rescue and evacuation is over, the J&K tragedy too will be ascribed to a 'natural disaster', forgetting that the tragedy has as much or more to do with failures of governance and policy than with Nature's unpredictable fury.
 
The Himalayas are threatened like never before. Most pertinently, the immensity of the impact on life and property is entirely attributable to poor planning, bad governance and environmentally-destructive activities promoted and justified in the name of 'development'.
 ... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: Economic Times

The deadliest environmental problem today is indoor air pollution — killing 4 million a year

Indoor air pollution still gets fairly little attention for such a spectacularly lethal public-health problem.
 
Here's the basic version: About 3 billion people around the world — mostly in Africa and Asia, and mostly very poor — still cook and heat their homes by burning coal, charcoal, dung, wood, or plant residue in their homes. These homes often have poor ventilation, and the smoke can cause all sorts of respiratory diseases.
 
All told, indoor air pollution kills between 3.5 million and 4.3 million people each year. To put that in perspective, that's more... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: Vox

Hold government, businesses to climate promises: activists

World leaders, businesses and others due to announce fresh efforts to tackle climate change at a U.N. climate summit in New York next week must be held to their promises, panelists told an online debate hosted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation this week.
 
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has organized the summit to boost political will and ambition for a new global climate pact expected to be agreed in Paris late next year. The New York gathering on Sept. 23 will be attended by 125 heads of state and government, or their deputies.
 
Ban Ki-moon's special envoy... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: Reuters

Why Electric Cars Will Eventually Dominate The Roads

Not long ago, it wasn't that easy to spot an electric vehicle. They seemed rare, like something only movie stars, aging hippies, and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs drove.
 
But now that EVs are becoming popular, it's fair to wonder: What's it like to own one? We asked veteran automotive journalist and author Jim Motavalli how EVs are similar to, and different from, gas-powered vehicles. Motavalli has been writing about alternative vehicles since the mid-1980s, and in his assessment, EVs are "not only just as good as gas-powered cars - in many cases, they're better."
 ... Read more..

Date : Sep 17
Source: Busines Insider

India won’t give new deal in UN Climate Summit

India is expected to stick to its tough stand on climate negotiation and make no new announcement at the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's climate summit in New York this month, which UN officials said would be a major turning point in the global approach to the issue. 
 
The summit, which will bring together 125 heads of state and government including US President Barack Obama, as well as business and civil society, has been slated as the big event to mobilise political will towards finalising the new global compact to tackle climate change. Though Prime Minister Narendra... Read more..

Date : Sep 16
Source: Economic Times

A Major Accounting Firm Just Ran the Numbers on Climate Change

With every year that passes, we're getting further away from averting a human-caused climate disaster. That's the key message in this year's "Low Carbon Economy Index," a report released by the accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers.
 
The report highlights an "unmistakable trend": The world's major economies are increasingly failing to do what's needed to to limit global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels. That was the target agreed to by countries attending the United Nations' 2009 climate summit; it represents an effort to avoid some of the most... Read more..

Date : Sep 16
Source: City Lab

Delhi govt to impose cess on liquor, cigarettes to fight pollution

The Delhi government has decided to impose cess on cigarettes and liquor in an attempt to create urban transport fund which will be used to tackle rising pollution levels in the National Capital. "One rupee cess shall be imposed on every packet of cigarettes and every bottle of liquor for the purpose," said a senior Delhi government official.
 
The government will introduce eight coaches in 129 Metro trains by March 2017. So far, only 58 Metro trains run with eight coaches. The decisions were taken at the meeting of a high-powered committee, which is constituted to examine... Read more..

Date : Sep 16
Source: India Today

Economics: Manufacture renewables to build energy security

Countries should follow China's lead and boost markets for water, wind and solar power technologies to drive down costs, say John A. Mathews and Hao Tan.
China's rise to become the world's largest power producer and source of carbon emissions through burning coal is well recognized. But the nation's renewable-energy systems are expanding even faster than its fossil-fuel and nuclear power. China leads the world in the production and use of wind turbines, solar-photovoltaic cells and smart-grid technologies, generating almost as much water, wind and solar energy as all of France and... Read more..

Date : Sep 16
Source: Nature

A Simple Technology That Can Solve India’s Clean #Water Problem In Just Rs.3,000

Worldwide, around 10,000 people die every day due to lack of clean drinking water. The situation is alarming, but bio-sand filters offer a simple and affordable solution. This low cost model purifies water, is locally manufactured and can also help the local community with various livelihood options. And, all of that in just Rs.3,000! Read along to know how it is done.
 
Water borne diseases are the number one  cause of deaths worldwide, with WHO and CDC estimates pinning 3.5 million deaths every year to contaminated drinking water. In India alone, around 2,000 people die every... Read more..

Date : Sep 16
Source: The Better India

Ministry ignores green norms in Okhla

The environment ministry ignored key recommendations from the Dehradunbased Wildlife Institute of India (WII) as well as its own committee while deciding the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.
 
The WII had observed that the ESZ should cover the entire flood plain from Wazirabad barrage to Jaitpur in Delhi to Asgharpur in Uttar Pradesh. "Hence the area west to Geeta Colony Road, Noida Link Road in the east to the river and area east to G.T. Road-National Highway 1 up to Jaitpur in the west to river can be included as ESZ," the report said.
 
... Read more..

Date : Sep 16
Source: India Today

MMRDA plans to transform BKC in Mumbai into a 'smart city'

With a view to attract investor interests and get a premium pricing for its remaining land bank, the city's planning authority MMRDA plans to transform the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) into a 'smart city'. 
 
"We want to provide such basic amenities that will transform BKC into a smart city, which will strengthen its brand value," Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) Additional Commissioner Sanjay Sethi told PTI. 
 
He said the authority is contemplating to provide facilities like wi-fi in the region, smart parkings, street lights with focus on... Read more..

Date : Sep 16
Source: Business Standard

Revision of green laws may hit Delhi

The ministry of environment and forests has asked for the public's comments on reviewing five crucial environmental laws, including the Air and Water (prevention and control of pollution) Acts-any amendment to which will impact the city massively.
 
Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the pollution watchdog that implements these acts in Delhi, will not comment. DPCC officials claimed MoEF hasn't asked them to. "We are not sure if we are supposed to express our views. We may comment once the draft new law is ready. The state governments can't do much when a committee to... Read more..

Date : Sep 16
Source: Times of India

India’s Tamil Nadu Sets Solar Tariff as Program Stalls

The electricity regulator for India’s Tamil Nadu set a price for solar-power producers after failing for the past two years to attract investments to a state that gets about 300 days of sun a year.
 
Tamil Nadu’s state-run distribution utility will pay 7.01 rupees (11 cents) a kilowatt-hour for power from solar photovoltaic plants and 11.03 rupees a kilowatt-hour to plants using solar-thermal technology, according to an order on the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission’s website.
 
Tamil Nadu has made barely any headway toward its solar target announced two... Read more..

Date : Sep 16
Source: Bloomberg
CSV