Sustainability Outlook Headlines

BORG Energy India to set up assembly plant; shortlists 2 sites

BORG Energy India, an arm of US-based BORG Inc, is considering two sites in Haryana and Andhra Pradesh for setting a solar equipment assembly plant, which will cater to domestic market and African region. 

The company says it will finalise the location once the political situation in Andhra Pradesh is clear. 

"We are looking at a location for setting up an assembly plant which will cater to the Indian and African markets. We have seen locations in Andhra Pradesh and Haryana and will soon finalise... Read more..

Project to Destroy CFCs Completed

EOS Climate has completed a pioneering project that demonstrated how carbon finance can address remaining inventories of chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) refrigerants in developing countries. The project destroyed CFC refrigerants from Nepal in conformance with the Climate Action Reserve’s protocol for ozone-depleting emissions.

The project was authorized by the Executive Committee of the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund (MLF). EOS worked with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Emergent Ventures India (EVI). This single... Read more..

Low-cost clean methanol hope for cheaper fuel

An international research team has discovered a potentially clean, low-cost way to convert carbon dioxide into methanol, a key ingredient in the production of plastics, adhesives and solvents, and a promising fuel for transportation.

Scientists from Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Technical University of Denmark combined theory and experimentation to identify a new nickel-gallium catalyst that converts hydrogen and carbon dioxide into methanol with fewer side-products than the conventional catalyst... Read more..

Solidaridad, HUF launch water efficiency programmes

Kolkata: Solidaridad, an international network organisation and Hindustan Unilever Foundation (HUF) together launched a water linked sustainable supply-chain intervention that is expected to save approximately one trillion liters of water through sustainable agriculture, here on Tuesday.

Explaining the reason behind targeting India and other south-east Asian countries as their area of operation, Shatadru Chattopadhyay , Managing Director of Solidaridad Network Asia said,"The concept that the southern part of the world is the... Read more..

Renewable Energy Certificate tradings volumes doubled in February: Indian Energy Exchange

 NEW DELHI: The traded volume of renewable energy certificates more than doubled this month on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX). 

Prices of these certificates both in solar and non-solar segments, however, remained flat on a month-on-month basis. 

The total traded volume of RECs, during yesterday's session, touched 1,83,923. In January, the same was at 84,472. 

One Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is equivalent to 1 MWh of energy generated from renewable sources. These are used as instruments to help entities meet the Renewable Purchase Obligation set by states. ... Read more..

"Bin It Bengaluru" campaign receives huge support from corporates

BANGALORE: TE Connectivity, a world leader in connectivity and Samarthanam Trust for disabled, on February 25 celebrated the success of the " Bin it Bengaluru" initiative. The campaign witnessed the contributions from 61 corporates, 102 apartments, 25 schools and more than 3,500 individual households across Bangalore. This resulted in a revenue of over Rs.25 lakhs and positively impacting the lives of 171 disabled people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This campaign was initiated as part of the "Joy of Giving Week" from... Read more..

India's Diesel Subsidy Spurs Pollution Worse Than Beijing

Molecular biologist George Easow’s move to India to start a clinical diagnostics business lasted just three weeks before he was convinced to return to the U.K.

The convincing was done by his seven-month-old daughter Fiona. Within days of moving to New Delhi, the child was wheezing and gasping for air because of smog. “She could hardly breathe,” said her father.

Fiona was kept indoors and put on medication. Nothing worked. “We had to make a call,” Easow said, adding her symptoms disappeared once... Read more..

Vadodara Municipal Corporation launches e-waste collection drive

The Vadodara Municipal Corporation has launched an e-waste collection drive in the city.

This follows the signing of an MoU between VMC and ECS Environment Pvt Ltd, an Ahmedabad-based firm, under which the company will collect e-waste from the people, VMC's standing committee chairman Hitendra Prabhudas Patel told PTI today.

The vendor company will reward people with cash for trading their old electronic gadgets, including televisions, washing machines, mobile phones, monitors, gaming consoles and... Read more..

MPCB proposes tougher sewage treatment norms

PUNE: Stringent and uniform standards for sewage treatment in residential buildings and industries with more than 20,000 sq m built-up area is in the offing.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board has proposed that all sewage treatment plants should meet inland freshwater discharge standards to promote recycling and reusing of treated waste. The pollution control board has invited suggestions for and objections to the proposal.

MPCB officials said all residential buildings and industries with... Read more..

India's largest solar plant in MP, Modi calls it 'saffron revolution'

Inaugurates India’s largest solar power plant at Neemuch in the presence of his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi launched a 130-MW solar power plant at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, about 400 km from here, on Wednesday. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was present.

The Welspun Solar MP project, the largest solar power plant in India set up at a cost of Rs. 1,100 crore on 305 hectares of land, will supply power at Rs. 8.05 a kWh.... Read more..

Solar power systems in government buildings

PUNE: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is promoting installation of solar systems in all buildings, depending on the feasibility, willingness of users and availability of funds.

Under off the grid and decentralized solar applications scheme of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), the ministry provides central financial assistance of 30% of the cost of solar systems for installing solar PV and thermal systems at educational institutions, hospitals, police stations, panchayats, jails, government guest houses... Read more..

Five Bangalore companies join hands for solar project

CHENNAI: In an effort to reduce their excessive dependence on grid power, five companies in Bangalore - Infosys, Cognizant, Coke, Philips and Bangalore International Exhibition Center - have come together to set up an aggregate solar power project. 

The project, implemented by World Resources Institute under its Green Power Market Development Group, was launched in January 2013 and received four bids from suppliers . With two finalists now, the project has reached negotiations with individual companies, sources said.