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Indian States Move Forward With Solar Net Metering & Solar Leasing

Indian states are making noticeable progress in implementing rooftop solar net metering with an attempt to expand distributed solar power infrastructure.
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission recently issued draft guidelines for solar net metering after years of attempts to implement an effective and popular policy. The regulations, if approved, would allow homeowners and project developers to export electricity from rooftop solar power projects.
As per the guidelines, homeowners can either own the solar power systems on their own or lease out their roofs to project... Read more..

Date : Sep 8
Source: Clean Technica

GE Says India Renewables More Attractive Than Coal or Gas

Clean-energy power plants will be a more attractive investment in India than coal or natural gas projects, according to General Electric Co. (GE)
“Wind and solar will continue to offer significant value over other fuels for several decades,” Mahesh Palashikar, GE’s India head of renewables, told a conference in Noida, near New Delhi.
GE invested $24 million in India’s largest solar-power project in April, a 151-megawatt plant under development by Welspun Group. It also invested in three Indian wind farms in July.
Conventional power projects are facing fuel-supply... Read more..

Date : Sep 8
Source: Bloomberg

Working towards 24x7 power supply to all in 5 years: Piyush Goyal

Government is committed to assure 24x7 electricity supply to every house hold by bringing in transformative reforms in the sector, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday. 
He said the government is working towards providing power to the last man standing in the country and has commenced taking various measures for the same. 
"We have ensured speedy environmental clearances and steps to protect the environment, renewed thrust to wind power capacity addition and cleared long-pending transmission projects worth Rs 12,272 crore," Goyal said. Together it would be a... Read more..

Date : Sep 8
Source: Economic Times

CII unit to give big push to construction of green buildings

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has set a target of constructing 10 billion sq ft of environment-friendly space in India by 2022 and will give a major push to housing for low-income group people.
IGBC Chairman Prem C Jain said currently the country houses 2.2 billion sq ft green building space and the target is to take it to 10 billion.
A major chunk of the target will be achieved through creating green residential spaces for the economically weaker section and low-income group people, he said.
“Currently, the residential space alone occupies 50 per cent of the... Read more..

Date : Sep 8
Source: Economic Times

NTPC may be forced to tap international solar power suppliers

Country's largest power company NTPC may be forced to tap international solar plant suppliers due to shortage in domestic capacity.
NTPC was laying emphasis on developing a solar power portfolio and had invited tender for 1,000 MW of solar power project open to only domestic suppliers.
"We have already invited tender for 1000 MW. But, after discussions we have indications that the available capacity to supply by domestic solar plant could be only around 300MW a year," NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury said during a recent visit to city.
NTPC has an aggressive target and... Read more..

Date : Sep 8
Source: Zee News

Germany’s great green gamble

The Germans gave the word kindergarten to the world of education. They gave the term wirtschaftswunder to development economics to describe their country’s remarkable economic transformation immediately following World War II. Now, in the area of sustainable growth, another typically compound German word is inviting global attention: energiewende. This refers to the profound energy transition Germany is going through. For a country dubbed as the “sick man of Europe” at the beginning of this century, the achievement is stupendous.
Today, already something like 30 per cent of Germany’s... Read more..

Date : Sep 8
Source: The Hindu

EV Battery Use Trumps Hybrid Battery Use

Plug-in electric cars are still a very small percentage of the market compared to conventional hybrid cars, but their battery capacity is not so small. With plug-in car sales growing in leaps and bounds, their annual battery use already trump the annual battery use of hybrids, but what about all time use?
According to one Green Car Reports calculation, “electric cars to date have used as much battery capacity as every hybrid built in the past 17 years.”
Green Car Reports asked two of its contributors to estimate the relative battery capacity total for electric-car versus hybrid... Read more..

Date : Sep 8
Source: Clean Technica

This business of climate change

Paris 2015 is the buzzword among the global climate change community today, when the countries would negotiate a long-term agreement on climate change.
The road to Paris is also dotted with two events this year — the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit in New York in September, and the 20th Conference of Parties to the UN climate change conference in December. Both aim to rouse the interest and ambition of the global community to strike a successful long-term deal — a deal that will have ambitious goals beyond 2020.
So, what is the deal for business and industry? Many say the... Read more..

Date : Sep 8
Source: Business Line- The Hindu

Water harvesting ensures livelihood security for Dalit farmers

Villupuram is one of the most backward districts in Tamil Nadu. Major crops cultivated there are paddy, onion, pulses, millets, sugarcane, casuarina and groundnut, using water from tanks and open wells.
The open wells belong to small and marginal farmers and have been abandoned for a long time due to heavy siltation and damaged walls resulting in poor storage and ground water recharge. The district receives the least amount of rainfall during the north east monsoon season.
Most of the farmers who did not have access to water moved to growing eucalyptus and casuarina. Those who... Read more..

Date : Sep 8
Source: The Hindu

North to west blackout: power crisis to worsen

 Blackouts across large swathes of north and west India look set to worsen with several power plants shutting down due to a crippling coal shortage even as a deficient monsoon drives up power demand.
Of the country’s 100 thermal power stations, 56 have less than seven days of coal stocks, including 27 with supplies to last under four days, government data showed Wednesday.
Long outages in the last few days have hurt operations in tens of corporate towers in Mumbai and adjoining areas while the national capital’s suburbs in Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad have also been left in the... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: Hindustan Times

Coal India rushes to supply power plants with critically low stocks

Coal India (COAL.NS) is rushing to supply coal it has sourced from railway sidings, loading areas and other places over the years to feed power plants critically short of the fuel, a company official with knowledge of the matter said.
The move is part of emergency measures taken by the state giant to prevent a shutdown of nearly one third of India's thermal power plants that have coal stocks of less than four days - a situation last seen in one of the worst blackouts in 2012. A few power firms have already switched off some units.
Adding to power companies' concerns is a... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: Reuters

Kirloskar Brothers signs MoU with Peru's National Water Authority of Peru

 Starting a new leaf to India-LatAm relationship, Indias top fluid management solutions provider Kirloskar Brothers Limited (KBL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Water Authority of Peru (ANA). Under the terms of the MoU, the Indian company will help the Peruvian water authority in the management of water resources in Peru.
The MoU was signed at the LatAm Mine Water Conference, held at Lima on 27 & 28 August. KBL was the Premium Bronze Sponsor of the conference. Mining activities require huge amounts of water and hence managing this precious and scarce... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: IIFL

Government mulling to blend up to 10% green fuels in diesel; move aimed at conserving fossil fuels

 The government plans to conserve finite fossil fuel by initially announcing blending of up to 10% environment-friendly biofuels in diesel for railways and defence sectors, and gradually raising its scope to all diesel vehicles, government officials and industry executives said. 
The government will soon initiate inter-ministerial consultations before the Cabinet takes a final view on the matter, officials said. Biodiesel is made from virgin or used vegetable oils and animal fats, which is a diesel substitute and requires no engine modifications up to 20% blend. 
Biofuel could... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: Economic Times

India looks to build 100 smart cities to boost economic development – PwC talks about investment opportunities

Sustainability in construction and how India can become a world centre for construction equipment and manufacturing are two of the central pillars of this year’s The Big 5 Construct India. With the new government’s promise to aggressively promote affordable housing the economy is set to be back on track and raise the plummeting GDP to 8-9%. The new government is expected to infuse life into the existing policies and remove major bottlenecks that are deterring growth. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indian real estate sector is expected to get a lift, resulting in amplification of... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: Eco Construction India

Overview of the New Government's initiatives at the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change

The new elected government has brought about many fresh initiatives around the block. Let's have a look at the summary of some of these initiatives:
1. Process for devolution of CAMPA funds for afforestation initiated which will ensure transfer of 30,000 Crores to states.
The CAMPA order envisages creation of a permanent institutional mechanism, both at Centre and each State Government, replacing the present body i.e. Adhoc Campa, with a view to ensure effective and expeditious utilization of the accumulated funds by the States, whom the funds actually belong to, in a... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: Eco Construction India

Experts’ concern over impact of capital on environment

Soon after the euphoria over Vijaywada Capital announcement dies down, the government is bound to realise the magnanimity of its first major task of mitigating the impact of urbanisation on agriculture and environment in VGTM region.
The Sivaramakrishnan Committee has observed in its report on ‘Alternatives for a New Capital for the State of Andhra Pradesh’ that ‘there is no evidence to show that an infrastructure or environment impact assessment has been made to permit urbanisation of this large area’.
This raises the concern of environmentalists, who apprehend an immediate... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: The Hindu

Chennai’s mangroves at risk, say experts

 The forests, which act as natural barriers against calamities, have been degraded
Stretches of mangroves along the Chennai coast are facing the threat of extinction due to pollution and overgrowth of invasive tree species, researchers caution. 
In Chennai, the trees, which offer protection from calamities such as tsunamis, cyclones and hurricanes, are found along the perimeter of Theosophical Society, in a fragmented patch around islands on Adyar river, and at the junction of South Buckingham canal and Cooum river (behind the Madras University campus). They are also found in... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: The Hindu

Hindustan Power Projects Pvt Ltd invests Rs 400 crore in eco-friendly technologies

Hindustan Power Projects Pvt Ltd today said it has invested Rs 400 crore at its Anuppur facility in Madhya Pradesh, to introduce environment friendly technologies to check pollution levels. 
"The company has introduced new age, environment-friendly technologies to ensure zero discharge from its Anuppur thermal plant. Considering agricultural activities in the area, the thermal arm has used advanced electrostatic precipitator (ESP) technology at a cost of Rs 400 crore," Hindustan Power Projects Ltd Chairman Ratul Puri said in a release. 
The filtration device removes fine... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: Economic Times

US envoy hopeful of successful solar energy engagements with India

 U.S. envoy Kathleen Stephens has said she is hopeful about her country having a successful engagement with India in the solar energy sector.
Talking to the media here recently, Stephens said she had discussed a variety of industrial engagements and business collaborations between the United States and India with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
She stressed upon building close collaborations in the energy sector.
"We are very glad that there is some American business engagement on solar energy here in Rajasthan, and we hope it will grow, we hope it will be... Read more..

Date : Sep 5
Source: Business Standard

From tomatoes to tea - Unilever reveals next phase of sustainable supply chain push

 Unilever this week gathered together several hundred of its largest suppliers at its annual 'Partner to Win Supplier Summit' in London, only to announce that the aim of the next phase of the company's sustainability initiative is to reach far deeper into its supply chain than its 200 biggest partners. In fact, the consumer goods giant committed itself to using its influence over its extended supply chain to improve the lives of one million people, delivering significant environmental and commercial benefits in the process.
To that end Unilever announced it is expanding its existing... Read more..

Date : Sep 4
Source: Business Green

Sustainability program helps Rieter save 15% energy use

In its latest sustainability report for 2013, Switzerland based textile machinery manufacturer Rieter said it succeeded in further optimizing the energy efficiency of its products compared to 2012.
The textile machinery producer said it was able to reduce total energy consumption relative to corporate output or sales by 15% from its energy-saving program at its Chinese and Indian plants.
This efficiency was made possible, Rieter added, despite expansion and modernization of its plants in China and India, which hiked energy consumption in absolute terms by 2,000 MWh to 133,000... Read more..

Date : Sep 4
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion

Thanks Tata Chemicals, Marine Conservation in Gujarat Gets a Boost

The capital of Gujarat today, witnessed Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), the Gujarat Forest Department and Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) come together to commemorate International Whale Shark Day and their success in protecting the Whale Sharks since the launch of the conservation project in 2004.
To further boost the marine conservation in the state, project reports on the Whale Shark and Coral Reef were released that exhibited the development on the project over the past few years. Mr. Vivek Menon, Executive Director and CEO of WTI and Mr. R. Mukundan, Managing Director at Tata... Read more..

Date : Sep 4
Source: India CSR

Tata Power Adopts Kadachimeth Village and Aims to Transform it into a Model Village by 2017

India has about 7 lakh villages, of which thousands are bereft of electricity, infrastructure and sound education facilities. Understanding the importance of developing villages to fast-track India’s growth story, Tata Power today announced that the company aims to transform Kadachimeth, a tribal village in the Thane District of Maharashtra, into a model village by 2017.
In line with the Independence Day speech of Hon’ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the need for developing model villages to build a stronger India, the Company has pledged to partner with the community of... Read more..

Date : Sep 4
Source: India CSR

Modi Vies With Widodo as India Set to End Diesel Subsidy

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is closer to scrapping controls on diesel prices that led to $66 billion of losses on sales of the fuel in the past decade.
The loss has fallen to 0.08 rupees (less than 1 U.S. cent) a liter from 13.4 rupees in September last year after Modi continued with gradual price increases that began in January 2013, Oil Ministry data show. The ministry will seek Cabinet approval to remove diesel controls once losses end, one of its officials with direct knowledge of the matter said last week, while requesting anonymity citing rules.
Modi is vying with... Read more..

Date : Sep 4
Source: Bloomberg

Is India prepared to deal with worsening power situation?

The number of thermal power plants with less than seven days of coal stocks has risen to 56 this week from 52 last week, government data showed on Wednesday.
India's 100 thermal power plants had enough coal overall to last six days on Sept. 1, unchanged on week, the Central Electricity Authority said. The stock levels are the lowest since mid-2012, when hundreds of millions of people were cut off in one of the world's worst blackouts.
Lesser hydel power generation due to deficient monsoon and unavailability of sufficient coal has put pressure on thermal power projects facing... Read more..

Date : Sep 4
Source: Deccan Chronicle
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