Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Greater Noida: Central pollution control board to probe groundwater pollution

The Uttar Pradesh pollution control board (UPPCB) on Wednesday said that it has asked the central pollution control board (CPCB) and Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) to determine contamination of groundwater in the villages of Greater Noida.

The UPPCB wrote to the Centre for a detailed study, after villagers alleged that the groundwater was so contaminated that it was causing cancer. Villagers alleged that cases of cancer were on the rise in Sadopur, Achheja, Sadullapur, Bishnuli, Dujana and Chhaprolla villages.

Around 100 villagers have died due... Read more..

Date : Nov 19

Source: Hindustan Times

AP plans LED street lights for all civic bodies

The Andhra Pradesh Government is planning to have LED street lights in all the civic bodies in the state - municipalities as well as corporations - in the next 3-5 years, and the State is also promoting LED lights for domestic use.

Saurabh Kumar, the Managing Director of the pubic sector Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), implementing the ambitious project, told reporters here on Tuesday that it would result in 50 per cent energy saving and in monetary terms it may amount to Rs. 4,000 crores in all sectors.

He was addressing the media along with Municipal... Read more..

Date : Nov 19

Source: Business Line- The Hindu

Seeing red about going green

When the idea of “green” architecture was introduced some years ago, the construction industry viewed it with resentment and scorn. But with public appreciation growing for environmental concerns, builders and architects have been quick to post their structures as environment-friendly. Many new buildings have been built with some respect for the environment, but the “green” tag is more often misrepresented than truly understood and applied.

In a new report titled “Building Sense: Beyond the Green Façade of Sustainable Habitat”, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE),... Read more..

Date : Nov 19

Source: FrontLine

Germany wants to help India in Ganga rejuvenation plan

Germany is the latest country to show interest in the Narendra Modi government's Ganga rejuvenation plan. The European nation has an impressive record in cleaning its rivers and has expressed readiness to join hands with the issue here.

Delhi seems keen. "Since it has successfully undertaken rejuvenation projects for rivers like the Rhine, India is considering taking the benefit of its expertise in the field," said a finance ministry official, requesting anonymity.

A team from Germany recently visited India and met finance ministry officials. It showed interest... Read more..

Date : Nov 19

Source: Business Standard

India welcomes G-20's endorsement of energy efficiency

For India, a small yet important success has come in the form of the G-20's endorsement of energy efficiency as important to ensuring sustainable development and growth, and the push to industrialised countries to provide and "mobilise" finance to address climate change, including contributing to the Green Climate Fund.

The G-20 meet that concluded in Brisbane on Sunday also made it explicit that its efforts to address climate change would be in line with the decisions taken by countries in the UN-sponsored negotiations.

While it supports "strong and effective... Read more..

Date : Nov 19

Source: Economic Times

Biogas gensets for Delhi waste water treatment plant

A new waste water treatment plant in Delhi, India is set to process up to 91 million litres of waste water daily features three biogas-fired gensets. Developers of the Nilothi plant (pictured) placed an order for three Caterpillar Energy Solutions/MWM TCG 2020 V16 series units via MWM’s Indian distributor, Green Power International Pvt Ltd. Run on biogas derived from digestion of the sewage sludge, the system can supply autonomous power of approximately 4.5 MWe as well as thermal energy in the form of hot water for digester heating with overall efficiency rates of up to 85%, the company... Read more..

Date : Nov 19

Source: Penn Energy

Increased global shipping has caused pollution on open seas

Owing to growing international trade, maritime traffic on the world's oceans has increased four-fold over the past 20 years, causing more water, air and noise pollution on the open seas, says a new research. In the Indian Ocean, where the world's busiest shipping lanes are located, ship traffic grew by more than 300 percent over the 20 year period, the findings showed.

Traffic went up in every ocean during the 20 years of the study, except off the coast of Somalia, where increasing piracy has almost completely halted commercial shipping since 2006. "The new study is the first... Read more..

Date : Nov 19

Source: Zee News

False promise of nuclear power

The need for costly upgrades post-Fukushima and for making the nuclear industry competitive, including by cutting back on generous government subsidies, underscore nuclear power’s dimming future. New developments highlight the growing travails of the global nuclear-power industry. France — the “poster child” of atomic power — plans to cut its nuclear-generating capacity by a third by 2025 and focus instead on renewable sources, like its neighbours, Germany and Spain. As nuclear power becomes increasingly uneconomical at home because of skyrocketing costs, the U.S. and France are... Read more..

Date : Nov 19

Source: The Hindu

India welcomes G-20's endorsement of energy efficiency

Date : Nov 18

Source: Economic Times

Global tech giants gear up for Digital India road map

Technology giants across India and abroad are eyeing the road map for the Digital India project. The Centre has approved the blueprint for the project in August, which is expected to attract investments upward of Rs 1,00,000 crore over the next three-four years.

According to media reports, Cisco, the networking giant, has earmarked $1.7 billion for investment this year in India. Other players such as Google, Microsoft, HP, IBM, TCS and Wipro are also gearing up with their offerings.

Companies that Business Standard spoke to are tight-lipped about their... Read more..

Date : Nov 18

Source: Business Standard

Karnataka drives e-waste recycling to recover metals

Karnataka has taken a lead in e-waste recycling to recover precious metals, including gold, silver, copper and palladium, from electronic products, computers and peripherals.

"We have tied up with the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) and e-waste recycler e-Parisaraa to set up a 100-tonne per annum integrated processing plant near here for recovering precious metals from electronic goods like printed circuit boards," IT Minister S.R. Patil told IANS.

According to a study by the electronic hardware industry apex body Manufacturers... Read more..

Date : Nov 18

Source: Zee News

Why rooftop solar market is not picking up?

A new report of the India-focused, German-headquartered solar consultancy, Bridge-to-India, released today puts the total rooftop solar installations in India at 285 MW, a number that is veritably small compared with the potential of the market. The consultancy’s Founder and Director, Tobias Engelmeier, puts the potential “easily” at 100,000 MW.

Engelmeier estimates that the country will have 1,500 MW of rooftop plants by 2018, but many experts doubt it.

Pashupathy Gopalan, who heads the Asia-Pacific operations of the US-based solar major, SunEdison, notes that... Read more..

Date : Nov 18

Source: Business Line- The Hindu

BHEL commissions second gas-based power plant in Tripura

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has commissioned the second module of ONGC Thermal Power Corp's gas-based power plant in Tripura, completing the combined-cycle power project that would use gas from Oil & Natural Gas Corp's adjoining fields in the northeastern state.

Located at Palatana in Tripura's Udaipur district, around 50 kms from the state capital of Agartala, the plant comprises two modules of 363.3 mw each, equipped with fuel efficient advanced gas turbines. State-run BHEL, which won the contract against international competitive bidding, commissioned the first... Read more..

Date : Nov 18

Source: Economic Times

Unraveling the paradox "Sustainable Business Growth - Myth or Math" at Tattv, 2014

In today's era of limited resources, dwindling investments and skyrocketing prices calls for modern day businesses to promulgate sustainable processes and seamless operations. There is a clear trade-off between rapid economic growth today, and sustained growth in the future. Rapid growth today may exhaust resources and create environmental problems for future generations.

Many organizations focus primarily on the short term high-profit goals and thus, lose sight of the long-term sustainable growth. Even within organizations, the importance of essential future asset building... Read more..

Date : Nov 18

Source: Tattv, SIOM

Delhi prepares for net metering as India rooftop PV boom predicted

Electricity distributors, or ‘discoms’, in Delhi have been instructed by the Delhi Electricity Regulation Commission (DERC) to bolster infrastructure for rooftop solar customers.

Two discoms owned by BSES and Tata Power Delhi have been directed to upgrade grid infrastructure as soon as possible so that rooftop solar customers can sell power they generate to the grid.

Earlier this year Delhi took the first steps towards what could potentially be a huge rooftop solar market by publishing regulations for a new net metering policy.

This will allow... Read more..

Date : Nov 18

Source: PV Tech

India plans to increase solar power five-fold without subsidies Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/india-plans-to-increase-solar-power-fivefold-without-subsidies-20141118-11op03.html#ixzz3JOobglcg

India said its renewable-energy industry must eventually learn to live without government support and that it's seeking to generate five times more power from solar by 2022 than is currently installed.

Renewables need to be a "self-sustained industry and not dependent on government subsidies," Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in an address at an event in New Delhi today. The government is targeting 100 gigawatts of solar capacity in the next eight years, putting India's ambition for photovoltaics on par with China's, he said.

India may find it difficult... Read more..

Date : Nov 18

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

NGOs show how to shrink waste before it reaches dumpyards

Sweeping up the streets isn't the only way you can contribute to the Clean India campaign. In fact, you can even do it sitting at home. How? By using a number of techniques like composting and segregation to reduce waste before it is sent to the city's already overflowing dumping grounds.

The Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Sanitation, Cleanliness and Community Health (MGC), in a collaborative effort with the Observer Research Foundation and Santacruz-based NGO Triratna Prerna Mandal, organised an exhibition showcasing such solutions for decentralised solid waste management as part... Read more..

Date : Nov 18

Source: DNA India

JMC to pay waste management firm Rs 8.45 crore

Municipal Corporation of Jodhpur has been ordered by an arbitrator to pay a sum of Rs 8.45 crore to a private company engaged for door-to-door waste management for the civic body. In its order, the arbitrator, former justice N N Mathur has held the Municipal Corporation of Jodhpur (JMC) culpable of "reneging" upon the conditions of agreement with the company.

Date : Nov 18

Source: PTI News

Modi proposes global centre for clean energy research

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday proposed to G20 nations that a global virtual centre be set up for clean energy research and development.

He also pushed for rapid expansion of renewable energy in rural areas.

In his statement, Mr. Modi said: “Let us increase our collective research and development efforts and collaboration and ensure dissemination to all countries.”

“For this, I would propose that we set up a global virtual centre for clean energy research and development, with adequate public funding, which will fund collaborative projects... Read more..

Date : Nov 17

Source: The Hindu

G20 urges 'strong and effective action' on climate change

The world's most powerful economies Sunday urged "strong and effective action" on climate change, catapulting the issue onto the final statement of G20 talks despite pressure from Australia to stick to economic matters.

The grouping, which includes the world's worst greenhouse gas polluters the United States and China, also threw their support behind a United Nations fund aimed at helping poorer countries deal with the problem.

"We support strong and effective action to address climate change," G20 leaders said in a communique after weekend talks in Brisbane... Read more..

Date : Nov 17

Source: Economic Times

50MW solar thermal power plant comissioned in Andhra Pradesh

MGPL, part of city-base Megha Engineering Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) today announced commissioning of its 50MW solar thermal power plant, built at a cost of Rs 848 crore in Andhra Pradesh. Spread over an area of 600 acres, the plant in Anantpur district contributes 110 million units of Solar Power.

This is directly and indirectly helpful to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state as NTPC allocates four times additional 440 million units of Thermal power from unallocated central quota to both states, MGPL said in statement. This is the largest investment in Solar industry in... Read more..

Date : Nov 17

Source: Economic Times

ITC wind farms in AP caught in ‘cross fire'

Wind energy farms set up by ITC Limited are caught in the ‘cross fire’ between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over wheeling issue.

The diversified corporate house, which has set up a series of wind farms to meet its internal requirements, is forced to pump the power generated into the grid for the past few months as there is lack of mechanism to wheel the power to its manufacturing units.

As a result, it has supplied renewable energy worth Rs. 12 crore free into the Andhra Pradesh Grid as it could not use it due to lack of wheeling arrangement.

... Read more..

Date : Nov 17

Source: Business Line- The Hindu

Cadila, Inox Wind to invest Rs. 800 crore in Madhya Pradesh

Two major companies, Cadila and Inox Wind, have drawn up plans to make big investments in Madhya Pradesh. Cadila, which plans to invest about Rs. 500 crore to set up a pharmaceutical unit in the newly developed industrial area in Jhabua district, has been allocated 95-acre land by the state government while Inox Wind, which eyes investment of more than Rs. 300 crore in setting up wind energy equipment plant in Barwani district has been allocated 42-acre land.

The state government is developing several new industrial hubs where large tracts of land are available. Inox Wind is... Read more..

Date : Nov 17

Source: Hindustan Times

Bamboo lends itself to be in eco-friendly loo

After deriving music, health food and chic furniture from bamboo, a research centre in Auroville is now looking to promote eco-friendly toilets entirely made from the wonder grass.

The Auroville Bamboo Centre (ABC) led by Bala Sundaram has been pushing the envelope as far as possible in diversifying the range of bamboo products.

The research team at the Centre, which has developed over 100 bamboo-derived products, ranging from jewellery to toys and charcoal soap, has been focused on bamboo-based materials in the housing sector over the last few months.
... Read more..

Date : Nov 17

Source: The Hindu

Odisha pollution board seals two units of JSL plant at Kalinganagar

Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) today sealed the Cold Rolling Mill (CRM) and Coke Oven units of one-million-tonne per annum (MTPA) steel plant of Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) at Kalinganagar industrial complex in Jajpur district on charges of repeated violations of pollution norms.

Photo Couretsy: businesstoday.intoday.in
Photo Couretsy: businesstoday.intoday.in
Armed with orders from the Jajpur collector a team of state government officials, which included Regional Officer of the OSPCB, Kalinganagar Anup Kumar Mallick and Sukinda tehsildar Umakanta... Read more..

Date : Nov 17

Source: Odisha Sun Times