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London’s low carbon grid trial to save consumers £43m

Smart grid management strategies trialled as part of the Low Carbon London project will save consumers £43m over the next eight years, says UK Power Networks.
 
Having concluded the four-year programme at the end of December 2014, the distribution network operator has released results of the study in a comprehensive report today, addressing multiple aspects required for the transition to a low-carbon economy, including flexible tariffs and electric vehicle charging.
 
“Low Carbon London brings us a vital step closer to the low-carbon future and tackles the ‘energy... Read more..

Date : Feb 12
Source: Engineering and Technology Magazine

State govt to give 89 pc subsidy on solar pump sets

The State government has decided to give top priority to installation of solar pump sets for agriculture by offering as much as 89 per cent subsidy. The government is giving a thrust to it to save power being generated by thermal power stations in the State. 
 
The officials have claimed that the agriculture sector is one of the largest consumers. The solar powered pump set would help the State government utilise the power saved for other purposes, the officials explained.  The cost of 3 Hp pump is priced at Rs 3.20 lakh and the 5 Hp set Rs 4.90 lakh. The MNRE (Ministry of New... Read more..

Date : Feb 12
Source: The Hans India

Amadeus Capital invests in India-focused energy management firm

Technology investor Amadeus Capital Partners on Wednesday said that it has made the second investment from its Digital Prosperity Fund, leading the equity component of $21 million financing in Cambridge Clean Energy Ltd. Cambridge is a provider of renewable energy management solutions to mobile network operators and tower companies in India and Africa, with plans to increase its presence in India, Amadeus said in a statement.
 
The investment follows Amadeus’ announcement that Bhavani Rana had joined the company as India head to establish Amadeus’ presence in India. Rana was... Read more..

Date : Feb 12
Source: Live Mint

Floating wind turbines for affordable electricity

Researchers are developing novel floating wind turbines that can generate affordable electricity for rural and off-grid areas. The technology is being developed by researchers led by Ben Glass, inventor and CEO of the company Altaeros Energies, founded in 2010 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
 
Glass has re-imagined the possibilities of balloon and airship technology to lift a wind turbine. Most wind turbine manufacturers are competing to build taller turbines to harness more powerful winds above 500 feet. 
 
In contrast, Altaeros' novel Buoyant... Read more..

Date : Feb 12
Source: Economic Times

SCB set to become bin-free zone from March 1st week

Secunderabad Cantonment will be a bin-free area soon as civic officials have decided to take up solid waste management on the lines of prevalent practice in Panaji, Goa. The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) on Monday approved a proposal to this effect. 
 
Incidentally, all the eight newly-elected board members were present at the meeting, which met after a gap of four months, but could not take part in the proceedings as the ministry of defence (MoD) had not issued a gazette notification of their election. 
 
"A meeting will be convened with representatives of... Read more..

Date : Feb 12
Source: Times of India

INOX WIND bags 166 MW contract from IDFC​'s Green Infra

INOX Wind Limited, a subsidiary of Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited (GFL), has bagged contracts for wind power projects having a total capacity of 166 MW from Green Infra Limited (GIL), an IDFC group company. These projects are scheduled for execution in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. As per the contract, which is amongst the largest in the country, INOX Wind will supply 83 units of its advanced 2MW DFIG wind turbine generators (WTGs).
 
The WTG has one of the highest swept areas that makes it ideally suited to maximize returns across the low wind sites... Read more..

Date : Feb 12
Source: India Infoline

Halls under temple trust go green

 While the city corporation has been harping on ways to make marriage auditoriums self-sustainable when it comes to waste management, wedding auditoriums run by the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trust have switched to decentralized garbage management.
 
The one-tonne capacity biogas plant installed in the compound of the temple trust office at East Fort serves a dual purpose - it processes nearly 260 kilograms of waste per day from five auditoriums and generates power to light lamps on its garden and premises.
 
"The biogas plant was the final answer to the food waste... Read more..

Date : Feb 12
Source: Times of India

Give water use details or will seal projects: NGT to Noida Authority

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has warned Noida Authority it will seal all builder projects, if records of treated sewage water that is distributed to builders in the city for construction is not presented to it soon.
 
In a previous hearing on February 2, the Authority had been asked to present the records by Tuesday. When they failed to do so, Justice Swatanter Kumar said, "We want a detailed record of all the water from sewage treatment plants that is being distributed among builders. The Authority has to produce exact details, so that the tribunal can assess the water... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Economic Times

India's first renewable energy summit to see 166 Gw of solar investment willingness

In the build-up to the government-sponsored renewable energy investment summit, RE-Invest 2015, the participating companies have provided non-binding investment indication of 166 gigawatt (Gw) solar power generation capacity and five Gw per year of solar manufacturing capacity.
 
In its latest report, Bridge to India — a leading consultancy firm monitoring investment in Indian renewable energy space — has compiled the noted investments which are likely to come in from active private solar developers. The major ones are that have indicated significant plans include Essel Infra... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Business Standard

KOEL, Rolls-Royce ink pact to supply gensets for nuclear plants

Pune based engine and genset manufacturer Kirloskar Oil Engines and UK based power systems provider Rolls-Royce has inked an agreement for exclusive cooperation on the building and commissioning of emergency gensets for nuclear power plants in India.
 
As per the declaration, Rolls-Royce will supply MTU engines and key components, and take responsibility for basic engineering and genset configuration. KOEL, as a main contractor to Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), will integrate the systems and assemble and test the gensets on site in India.
 
“Working... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Business Standard

Uttar Pradesh mulls over running buses on bio-fuel

The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has readied a blue print to run state-owned buses on bio-fuel, an official said Wednesday. Sources said the plan is being explored by the state government in association with a Swedish company.
 
Officials said a team from Sweden is likely to arrive in the state capital within the next few days and hold discussions with UPSRTC officials.
 
A trial run would follow soon, an official said, adding UPSRTC Managing Director Mukesh Meshram was monitoring the project personally, as it was also his brainchild.... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Zee News

Israel offers to boost India's clean water supply

Israel is looking to boost India's supplies of clean water, a resource that is projected to become increasingly difficult to obtain in the future.
 
A delegation of Israeli water companies, led by the director general of its ministry of economy, Amit Lang, Tuesday met with Indian companies here to explore collaborations.
 
"A major item on our agenda is to offer Israeli expertise for India's Clean Ganga project, for which we have met the government's water secretary here," Lang told reporters on the sidelines of the business meeting.
 
Israel, which has... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Zee News

Apple Clinches $850 Million Deal With First Solar for Renewable Energy

Apple Inc. is investing $848 million in a solar farm to harvest electricity in a partnership with First Solar Inc. Apple will receive power from 130 megawatts of First Solar’s California Flats Solar Project in Monterey County, California, under a 25-year power-purchase agreement, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday. First Solar shares rose 2.1 percent in extended trading, adding to a 4.8 percent gain to $48.54 at the close in New York.
 
The iPhone maker already powers all of its data centers with renewable energy. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer, has... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Bloomberg

Solar businesses: How cos like Tata Power Solar, SELCO are making profits from renewable energy

Rahul Gupta could not manage to get a job in 2010 when he graduated from IIT Roorkee. This March his company, Rays Power Experts, will clock a combined turnover of Rs 600 crore in four years of its existence. At 27, Gupta has 125 employees working under him and is already preparing to compete with well-established companies to bid for large solar parks. Gupta's story suggests that solar energy sector is no more only about preserving the planet. It also makes great business sense.
 
Solar energy makes business sense for small entrepreneurs as well as big corporate houses such as... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Economic Times

Breakthrough in thermal storage technology

Brenmiller Energy, an Israeli firm, announced on Monday that it will build a 10 mega-watt (MW) concentrated solar power plant in Israel. The plant that will be constructed in Negev desert near the town of Dimona would be spread across 45 hectares.
 
The plant will use an energy storage technology that will be able to produce electricity for about 20 hours in a day. Brenmiller energy chief executive Avi Brenmiller tells Reuters, “For renewable energy to move to the next phase, we need to make it available whenever we, human beings need it, and not when the sun is shining or the... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Down to Earth

Claro Energy Receives USD 2 Million Credit Facility for Solar Water Pumps

Claro Energy, a leading solar water pumping solution provider, today announced that it has received a first of its kind USD 2 million credit facility from RBL Bank to scale up its solar pumping business. Of this USD 1 million is a Direct Line of Credit to meet working capital needs and another USD 1 is a commitment from the Bank towards direct farmer financing for Claro Energy’s solar water pumps.
 
“Solar pumping is the most useful application of solar energy in India as it is directly connected to farmer’s income and food production.  As MNRE expands the solar pump program... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Panchabuta

Delhi power discoms brace for a shock as Arvind Kejriwal may go after them yet again

Arvind Kejriwal's electrifying election victory has raised hopes of lighter power bills in Delhi but companies that deliver electricity to households are bracing for shockwaves from the man who has taken them on in the past, is determined to get their accounts audited and expose them to market competition. 
 
Company executives say that with his overwhelming majority in the Delhi assembly, Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party is likely to forcefully delve into the affairs the distribution arms of Tata PowerBSE 0.80 % and Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure. Executives recall his 49-... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Economic Times

Tesla is at a crossroads

Tesla reports fourth-quarter earnings this week. For the most part, analysts and observers of the electric-car maker's fortunes are expecting CEO Elon Musk to report that Tesla delivered fewer cars in the last three months of 2014, and for the whole of the year, than predicted.
 
But whether Tesla delivered 35,000 cars or 33,000 cars or 30,000 cars or 30 cars in 2014 is irrelevant at this point. With production levels like that, Tesla is essentially the electric Ferrari: a low-volume niche player, selling one car, a $100,000 luxury sedan.
 
Well, not exactly the... Read more..

Date : Feb 11
Source: Business Insider

Thermal plants pollute air, water in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

Most government thermal power plants in Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh have been continuously violating basic environmental standards and polluting natural resources including air, ground and surface water. Repeated notices from the State Pollution Control Board, for time-bound action to arrest the pollution, have gone unheeded. 
 
Major pollutants from thermal plants are fly-ash and the waste water that is used for cooling the thermal machinery. Fly-ash causes air, water pollution while discharge of waste water into rivers, sea or ponds, kill aquatic beings. 
 ... Read more..

Date : Feb 10
Source: Deccan Chronicle

Adani to develop 10,000 MW solar parks in Rajasthan

The Rajasthan Government and Adani Enterprises Ltd., on Monday, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for developing solar parks with a capacity of 10,000 MW in the next ten years. The MoU was signed by Adani Enterprises CEO Vineet Jain and Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Managing Director B. K. Dosi in the presence of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
 
Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani group, will develop solar parks having a capacity of 10,000 MW in the next ten years. Of these, solar parks of 5,000 MW capacity will be developed in the next five... Read more..

Date : Feb 10
Source: The Hindu

Inox Wind bags 166MW contract from Green Infra

Inox Wind has received a 166MW contract from Green Infra, a company promoted by IDFC PE Fund, to set up projects in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in the sector where the government has restored tax benefits to promote clean energy. 
 
Inox Wind, part of the $2 billion (about Rs 12,400 crore) Inox group that has interests in multixplexes, cryogenic technology refrigerants and industrial gases, is a subsidiary of Gujarat Fluorochemicals. 
 
Under the contract, the company will develop and construct the projects on a turnkey basis, supply 83 units of 2 mw wind... Read more..

Date : Feb 10
Source: Times of India

Russia & India - Waste Management Sector’s Biggest Opportunity

International Solid Waste Association President David Newman questions whether, from an environmental perspective, it would be better to invest in basic sanitary waste collection and landfills in the huge countries of the developing world, than in ever higher and more expensive to achieve recycling rates in Europe.
 
Here is an extract from the latest issue of Waste Business Monitor developed by Acuccom Ltd of the UK  regarding November's data:
 
"This issue analyses 109 waste projects worldwide with an estimated value of US$10.26 billion. Looking at the types of... Read more..

Date : Feb 10
Source: Waste Management World

NMMT buses on select routes may run on ethanol

The forthcoming 2015-16 Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) budget is turning out to be a revolutionary one with a determined bid by new civic commissioner D T Waghmare to help the city become the first Eco City in India.
 
Soon, expect to board Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) buses run on ethanol, a bio-gas fuel, to contain the carbon footprint from fuel emission. Discussions are afoot to include the project in the budget. 
 
"I plan to introduce the pollution free fuel on certain routes initially," said the commissioner. 
 
The buses need... Read more..

Date : Feb 10
Source: Times of India

How China is turning faecal sludge into 'black gold'

Heinz-Peter Mang is obsessed with turning human waste into gold. As millions of Chinese move to cities, the German engineer is convinced the country is on the way to hitting the jackpot.
 
A growing portion of China's toilet waste is converted into fertiliser and biogas. In Beijing, some estimates show 6,800 tons of human excrement are treated each day, enough to fill almost three Olympic-size swimming pools.
 
Over the past decade, China's economic ascent has driven millions of rural workers into its cities in the largest migration in human history. In 2013, the... Read more..

Date : Feb 10
Source: NZ Herald

Timeline: The IPCC’s shifting position on nuclear energy

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed in 1988 as an expert panel to guide the drafting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, ratified in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The treaty’s objective is to stabilize greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a safe level.
 
The IPCC has published a series of five multi-volume climate change assessment reports, the most recent of which was completed just a few months ago, as well as a number of special reports assessing specific issues. Over time, the organization has subtly adjusted its position on... Read more..

Date : Feb 10
Source: The Bulletin
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