Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Delhi set for a ‘makeover’ as Venkaiah Naidu rolls out action plan

Aiming to give Delhi a facelift, Urban Development Ministry on Thursday firmed up an action plan to ensure a “clean and green” capital city, with major focus on sanitation, waste disposal and upkeep of public places, to improve the quality of life of its residents.

In a meeting with all stakeholders, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu chalked out a detailed three-pronged strategy – short term, medium term and long term – to carry out the beautification drive by various concerned agencies.

Emphasising the need for concerted efforts to ensure a “clean and... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: Indian Express

EU cites J-K floods to root for strong climate agreement

Sounding alarm bells over Jammu and Kashmir floods and other environmental disasters, European Union Friday said governments should work "seriously" towards a meaningful and "strong" climate agreement in Paris next year to keep the goal of limiting global temperature increase to under two degrees Celsius.

"Citizens around the planet are now feeling the impact of climate change. Right now, in Kashmir.... You see in many parts of the world. ...And I believe that that should be a sort of background music for Paris next year," European Union Climate Action Commissioner Connie... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: Zee News

India Offshore Wind Policy to Target 1 Gigawatt by 2020

India is set to introduce an offshore wind policy targeting 1 gigawatt by 2020, seeking to mimic Europe’s success in generating power at sea.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will seek cabinet approval for the policy shortly, according to Joint Secretary Alok Srivastava.

“Development of the technology has made offshore wind projects viable now,” Srivastava said by phone yesterday.

By 2018, the cost of electricity from offshore windmills will equal that of land-based projects in Asia’s second-biggest turbine market, he said. Wind farms in... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: Bloomberg

India, EU stress need for global pact on climate change

India and the European Union Friday stressed the need for a global agreement on climate change at the UN Conference in Paris next year. During their meeting, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and European Union Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard discussed various steps taken by both sides to tackle global warming.

"We had a very good discussion with the visiting delegation," Javadekar said after the meeting. The Minister said he told the the visiting EU delegation that India is going ahead with its domestic action plan "which is more pro-active and more green"... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: Zee News

IPCL's 32 percent gross revenue growth from wind power

India Power Corporation Limited (IPCL) -- an integrated power generation and distribution company—has registered a 32 percent growth in gross revenue in wind power generation from Rs.49.21 crore in 2012-13 to Rs.64.77 crore in 2013-14, a top official said here Saturday.

“Wind power generation capacity of 95.2 MW recorded a growth in gross revenue from Rs.49.21 crore in 2012-13 to Rs.64.77 crore in 2013-14, a near 32 percent rise, and we are quite hopeful of improving further the performance of this vertical,” company chairman Hemant Kanoria said at its 94th annual general... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: India TV News

'USD 100 bn investment likely in renewable energy in 4 years'

The government is expecting USD 100 billion investment in the renewable energy sector in the next four years as it firms up a new policy framework for the same.

"We expect USD 100 billion in the renewable energy sector in the next four years," Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said today at Economist India summit.

He also said the government expects USD 50-60 billion investment in power transmission and distribution in the next four years.

The government is working on a renewable energy policy to attract investments in the... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: Business Standard

World’s Largest Single Rooftop Solar Power Project Commissioned In India

Indian solar energy companies are fast delivering world-class solar power projects as the market expands based on favorable regulatory and policy outlooks.

India’s largest engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company in the solar power market has just commissioned the world’s largest single rooftop solar photovoltaic power project. The 7.52 MW solar power plant has been commissioned in the northern state of Punjab.

Larsen and Toubro has been involved in the construction of several solar power projects that will be seen as major milestones in India’s... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: Clean Technica

India Power Coprn plans to augment renewable power procurement

India Power Corporation Ltd (IPCL), a power generation and distribution company, is augmenting its renewable power procurement plans. It has also planned to add 200 MW wind power capacity by the end of 2015. IPCL aimed to make mandatory renewable and cogeneration purchase obligation (RPO) an in-built process, said Hemant Kanoria, Chairman, at the company’s 94th annual general meeting on Saturday. In 2013-14, IPCL procured 0.727 million units of solar power from Seebpore unit of West Bengal Green Energy Corporation or about 0.07 per cent of the total power requirement of the company in its... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: Business Line- The Hindu

Govt launches web portal on Ganga Rejuvenation Plan

In a major step towards its cleanliness drive, the Ministry of Water Resource on Friday launched an exclusive web portal on the river Ganga. The purpose of this launch is to connect with public on the ambitious Ganga rejuvenation project of the National Democratic Alliance or NDA Government.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister for Water Resource, Uma Bharti said that the website was an important tool to connect the public with the gigantic task of Ganga rejuvenation.

The website (nmcg.nic.in) gives details of Namami Gange, an Integrated Ganga Conservation... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: Zee News

Govt to create fund to promote public transport

Delhi government has decided to establish an urban transport fund to promote public transport and its use in a bid to tackle the rising pollution levels in the national capital.
One rupee cess shall be imposed on purchase of every packet of cigarette and every bottle of liquor for the purpose, a Delhi government official said Friday.

The government has also decided to introduce 8 coaches in 129 metro trains by March 2017. So far, only 58 metro trains run with 8 coaches.

These decisions were taken at a High-Powered Committee meeting, constituted to examine... Read more..

Date : Sep 15

Source: Zee News

Centre prepares concept note on smart cities

The ministry of urban development has prepared a draft concept note on the smart city scheme. The government had announced a plan to develop 100 smart cities to provide better amenities in urban areas. The 100 smart cities will include all state capitals and union territories.

It will also comprise 44 cities in the population range of 1-4 million people, nine satellite cities with a population of 4 million or more, 10 cities that are of religious and tourist importance and 20 cities in the 0.5 to 1 million population range. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will develop a... Read more..

Date : Sep 12

Source: Live Mint

Solutions to the water energy nexus remain elusive

Volkswagen and Coca-Cola among businesses acting on interconnected issues of water and energy, but the voice of power companies and energy producers is largely absent

Solutions to the water energy nexus – the main topic of last week’s World Water Week conference in Stockholm – remain elusive. The basic idea is simple enough: water is energy intensive, and energy is water intensive, so addressing both in an integrated way should lead to innovative, more efficient solutions.

As an example, California, the drought-stricken US state, uses around a fifth of its... Read more..

Date : Sep 12

Source: The Guardian

The spiralling energy consumption behind your smart phone

Researchers are trying to address the mobile telecom industry’s dirty little secret by developing energy efficiency technology

The mobile industry has flourished in recent years by delivering faster network speeds to the billions of phones and tablets now in consumers’ hands. But for future growth to continue at the same pace - and bring billions of more devices online - telecom engineers need to solve a new challenge: energy efficiency.

Mobile handsets themselves have a relatively small energy footprint - using a mobile phone for a year has the same emissions... Read more..

Date : Sep 12

Source: The Guardian

Indian Coal Producer To Invest $80 Million in Solar, Wind Energy Projects

Government-owned companies in India are responding to the calls by the government to boost investment in renewable energy projects.

Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), a big coal producer and power generator located in Southern India, has announced that it will invest ₹500 crore (US$82 million) to set up 25 MW solar photovoltaic and 55 MW wind power capacity.

The company has given the order for installation of 10 MW solar PV project to another public sector company, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL). The push for renewable energy projects has increased among... Read more..

Date : Sep 12

Source: Clean Technica

'USD 100 bn investment likely in renewable energy in 4 years'

Date : Sep 12

Source: Business Standard

IFC, Yes Bank to lend USD 150 million to Continuum Wind Energy

Continuum Wind Energy, in which Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners owns a majority stake, would receive a USD 150-million loan from two lenders for a 170-MW project in Madhya Pradesh.

World Bank Group member International Finance Corporation (IFC) said it would lend USD 50 million and has helped arrange an additional USD 100-million loan from private sector lender Yes Bank for the wind power plant in Madhya Pradesh.

The World Bank Group's impact investment and lending body would lend to two wholly-owned subsidiaries of the company to reduce greenhouse gas... Read more..

Date : Sep 12

Source: Business Standard

Suzlon to float subsidiary in London

Suzlon Energy, India’s largest wind power company by sales, plans to push ahead with a $600m London flotation of its German subsidiary in the next six months, in spite of concerns about the record of London-listed companies based in emerging markets.

The initial public offering forms part of a new capital-raising push by the once high-flying renewables group, which also plans to raise $600m in fresh US dollar-denominated debt, founder Tulsi Tanti said.

“Our plan is to raise about $1.2bn of debt and equity, and to reduce our existing rupee debt,” he said. “We are... Read more..

Date : Sep 12

Source: Panchabuta

Are sustainability reports driving change or just 'losing the signal'?

The avalanche of corporate sustainability information makes it hard to separate the wheat from the chaff – or the vitally important from the merely interesting.
Early in my career I had an epiphany. It was the mid-80s and I was working for the US Environmental Protection Agency, developing risk assessments for regulating toxic air pollution. I was asked to work on a new law: the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (Sara), which – in section 313 – required that companies report on releases of toxic chemicals from their factories. My initial impression was that this was a... Read more..

Date : Sep 12

Source: The Guardian

Consumer behaviour and sustainability - what you need to know

Our live chat explored what value consumers place on the sustainability of the products they buy. Here are 10 things we learned
1. Consumers value certification
Despite the array of labelling on shop shelves, Fairtrade Foundation’s Barbara Crowther says 76% of the public believe independent third-party certification is the best way to verify a product’s social or environmental claims.
However, according to Lucy Atkinson, an assistant professor at the University of Texas, while the trust of US consumers lies in government or third-party labels, the appeal... Read more..

Date : Sep 12

Source: The Guardian

Climate change may have caused Kashmir floods: CSE

The devastating floods in Jammu and Kashmir could be a manifestation of extreme weather events induced by climate change, the Centre for Science and Environment said Wednesday.

Flood-affected people row boats past partially submerged buildings in floodwaters in Srinagar, India, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014. The flooding began earlier this month in Kashmir, where it has caused landslides and submerged much of the main city of Srinagar, on the Indian-administered side. The death toll from the flooding in both countries has climbed to at least 457.

Sunita Narain,... Read more..

Date : Sep 12

Source: ABP Live

India drops solar anti-dumping plan before Modi meets Obama

India has dropped plans to impose an anti-dumping duty on solar panel imports, a move that is likely to help mend frayed commercial ties with the United States before Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President Barack Obama this month. Days before Modi took office in May, a quasi-judicial body ordered the imposition of the duty on panels imported from the United States, China, Taiwan and Malaysia to protect domestic solar manufacturers.

The order issued had set duties of between 11 and 81 U.S. cents per watt following a investigation which started in 2011. The ruling had to... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: Reuters

India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known as a 'big thinker' when it comes to energy. But in his country's case, could thinking big be a huge mistake?

Two years ago, as Indians sweated through 115-degree temperatures on the eve of an unusually late monsoon, the electricity grid collapsed across the entire northern tier of the country. The two successive blackouts that resulted represented the biggest power outage in history, affecting more than 620 million people. Airports, railways, and offices shut down. Streets were gridlocked. Miners were trapped underground. Hospitals struggled to keep patients alive with backup generators.

With an economy that was already showing signs of stalling after years of impressive growth, the... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: On Earth

India's 'Climate Smart' Villages Target Sustainable Agriculture

Scientists warn that agriculture around the world can be significantly affected by climate change, and are now teaching farmers new technologies to adapt. At one “climate smart” village in northern India, farmers are changing age-old practices to overcome the challenge of increasingly erratic weather patterns.

Harpreet Singh of Taraori village in northern Haryana state says recent years of failed rains and rising temperatures have damaged the paddy of wheat crop on his sprawling 30-hectare farm.

But unlike other farmers, this year’s weak monsoon rains did not... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: VOA News

Renewable energy innovations drive Li-ion battery growth

The outlook for global lithium-ion battery market is strong over the coming years as developing applications in the grid and renewable energy storage segment help boost demand for Li-ion batteries, according to Frost and Sullivan. By 2020, the market is expected to earn revenues more than quadruple of the $17.58 billion earned in 2013.

To ride the growth wave, vendors should include the grid and renewable energy storage segment in their growth strategy as the stationary energy storage market is likely to be the leading consumer of lithium-ion batteries and utility companies... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: EET India

PFS, PFC Green to jointly finance renewable energy projects

In order to cut down on time needed for financial closure of renewable energy projects, PTC India Financial Services and PFC Green Energy today signed an initial agreement for facilitating joint financing of those plants.

PTC India Financial Services (PFS) is promoted by PTC India and PFC Green Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Finance Corporation.

As per the initial pact, both the companies have agreed to provide a single window to borrowers developing renewable energy projects under consortium financing to achieve speedy financial closure and... Read more..

Date : Sep 11

Source: Business Standard