Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Net-metering policy for solar projects approved

Punjab government today approved a net-metering policy for installation of solar photovoltaic power plants.
Disclosing this here today, Punjab Revenue and Renewable Energy Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said the net metering policy will be applicable to all domestic, institutional, industrial, institutional and commercial consumers of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).
He said under the policy, which has been formulated by the Department of New and Renewable Energy and Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), all PSPCL consumers will have an option to install... Read more..

Date : Sep 1

Source: Business Standard

Piyush Goyal to launch three energy efficient initiatives

Piyush Goyal Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal, and New & Renewable Energy, will launch three energy efficient initiatives on Tuesday at DRDO Bhawan. The initiatives developed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency under Ministry of Power include Design Guidelines for Energy Efficient Multi-Story Residential Building Star Rating for Hospital Buildings and for Diesel Generators.
Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas will deliver the keynote address at the function.
Energy-Efficient Design Guidelines for Multi-Storey Residential Buildings... Read more..

Date : Sep 1

Source: India Blooms

Gurgaon goes Dutch to fight Garbage

Want to convert waste to value? Ask the Dutch. The Municipal bosses at Gurgaon are relying on the world renowned experts to clean up the Bandhwari waste treatment plant. This will take care of the garbage mess plaguing Gurgaon for the next 7-10 years. Rutger de Bruijn, CEO of NexusNovus and an old Netherlands hand made a strong pitch for the project on behalf of the Dutch consortium.
The Bandhwari waste treatment plant is now sitting on six hundred thousand tons of untreated garbage after it shut down due to an outbreak of fire. Originally tasked to process around one thousand tons... Read more..

Date : Sep 1

Source: Nexus Novus

UK shows interest in investing in renewable energy sector

The United Kingdom has evinced keenness in investing in renewable energy sector in the State fo Andhra Pradesh. A delegation led by UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey called on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in Hyderabad on Wednesday and interacted with him about the potential for investments in the renewable energy sector.
Expressing interest in clean and green energy sources, Mr. Davey said his country was interested in investing in solar and wind power projects in the State. The UK government would consider investments in the State’s proposed gas... Read more..

Date : Sep 1

Source: The Hindu

IFC lending $14.3M to Azure Power's solar energy arm

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, is lending $14.3 million to PE-backed Azure Power India Private Limited’s renewable energy arm Azure Clean Energy Private Limited, as per a disclosure.
IFC proposes to provide ‘A’ loan of up to $14.3 million (Rs 86 crore) equivalent for the development of a 40 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan.
Azure Clean has been set up for the sole purposed of construction, operation and maintenance of the aforesaid project and will not have any other operations.
The project, which is expected... Read more..

Date : Sep 1

Source: VC Circle

Powerica to market Vestas wind turbines

In its new avatar in India, Danish wind turbine major Vestas has turned to its Indian customer, Powerica, for marketing.
The pact with the Mumbai-based Cummins diesel genset manufacturer is close to finalisation, sources in the know say. Powerica will sell Vestas turbines in India and also take care of servicing the machines. Vestas will only make and sell the wind-power turbines.
In September 2012, Vestas had said it would “scale down its sales efforts in India”, which meant it was quitting the market. The decision was part of its global restructuring plan.
Since the end... Read more..

Date : Sep 1

Source: Business Line- The Hindu

SunSwitch to roll out diesel-hybrid gensets

SunSwitch India, a Sahibabad, Delhi-based full-service provider of solar energy solutions, and an arm of Ambica Steels, is now coming up with integrated solar-diesel-grid solutions, promising to cater to the needs of consumers paying high diesel fuel bills due to intermittent or no power supply.
The firm is also coming up with a solar water pumping solution, which is ideal for farmers and remote areas where electricity is absent. The new integrated solution makes a lot of sense for companies with high diesel consumption to go solar.
The company presents a meaningful value... Read more..

Date : Sep 1

Source: My Digital FC

Neosilica to focus on green energy smart solutions

Hyderabad-based NeoSilica, a provider of technology solutions for smart cities and smart grids, is keen to expand its footprint in the renewable energy performance management solutions.
Satyam Bheemarasetti, CEO of Neosilica, says the company's Smart Energy SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) solution captures a solar plant's critical energy performance by utilising data analytics and updates it through a cloud-based software solution relaying it real time.
He explains that most of the solar plant managers were collecting the critical data relating to plant... Read more..

Date : Sep 1

Source: Business Standard

Land-rich Suzlon Energy looking at EPC contracts in solar power segment

Suzlon Energy is eyeing engineering, procurement and construction business in the solar power segment. It’s a plan the company had evolved six years ago, but shelved later due to various reasons. Speaking at the India Economic Summit in New Delhi in November 2008, Suzlon’s Chairman and Managing Director Tulsi Tanti had said the company was interested in building solar plants for others — just as it does windmills.
A lot happened in the past six years. While the cost of putting up solar photovoltaic plants dropped steeply — from $3 to 60 cents per panel space needed to produce a watt... Read more..

Date : Sep 1

Source: Business Line- The Hindu

India Inc takes steps to sustain natural capital

There is a new buzz in boardrooms around 'natural capital sustainability'. Even as awareness on this issue is picking up, a handful of companies in India, cutting across industry segments, are giving back more than they take — being water- or carbon-positive is part of their business model.
"Companies need to set quantifiable objectives around a crucial natural capital on which they are predominately dependent, take corrective measures and keep track of the impact," says Andrew Harding, MD of UK-headquartered Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
Ambuja Cements... Read more..

Date : Aug 29

Source: Times of India

Mumbai Has a Green Dream

Ever since the Modi Sarkar has come into power in New Delhi social entrepreneurs, innovators and environmentalists have started putting their foot forward with new ideas and projects involving innovative sustainable techniques. The sense of enthusiasm has never been so high because the receptivity was never so forthcoming either in the power corridors feel the innovators.
Alan Abraham a well known Architect & City Planner and younger brother of Bollywood Star John Abraham feels the same and is very excited that he will soon get a chance to present his ambitious plan- ‘The Bombay... Read more..

Date : Aug 29

Source: The CSR Journal

Upcycling Plastic

Assam based NGO Parivartan, recently invited a German expert to conduct a workshop on Upcycling Plastic. The main idea was to create awareness in the local communities of the problems associated with plastic garbage and to encourage Upcycling of plastic waste instead of littering or burning.
The workshop touched upon the usual suspects in the plastic waste menace story by talking about:
Assam based NGO Parivartan's Workshop on Upcycling Plastic Waste trained women of the local communities in the art of using Plarn (Plastic Yarn) to create useful things.
Assam based NGO... Read more..

Date : Aug 29

Source: The CSR Journal

Indian State Of Punjab Plans To Add 2,000 MW Solar Power Capacity

Indian states seem to have locked themselves in a race to install large capacities of solar power projects. Many states already had ambitious solar power policies before the new BJP-led government came to power, but a number of other states have also joined the bandwagon with plans to install thousands of megawatts of solar power capacity.
The northern state of Punjab, currently ruled by a party that is also an ally to the central government, has announced plans to set up 2,000 MW of solar power capacity, and asked the central government to help it achieve the target.
The need... Read more..

Date : Aug 29

Source: Clean Technica

Hyatt Unveils New 2020 Environmental Sustainability Strategy

In conjunction with the release of its 2013-2014 Corporate Responsibility Report, Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) unveiled today an aggressive set of environmental goals for the year 2020, all designed to strengthen Hyatt’s collective ability to collaborate, inspire and further its commitment to environmental stewardship. Hyatt, which is already an industry leader for tracking comprehensive global energy and water data since 2006, is significantly expanding the scope of its existing sustainability initiatives and will continue to focus strongly on measuring and reporting progress.
... Read more..

Date : Aug 29

Source: Yahoo Finance

India Drops Proposal To Levy Anti-Dumping Duties on Solar PV Modules

India may have avoided a major confrontation with the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO) with its decision not to impose anti-dumping duties on imported solar photovoltaic modules.
The Indian Ministry of Finance has rejected the proposal by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to levy anti-dumping duties on imported solar PV modules, government sources have told Press Trust of India. This culminates long-standing demands by domestic solar PV modules manufacturers which claimed loss of business. Some of these manufacturers are under tremendous financial strain.... Read more..

Date : Aug 29

Source: Clean Technica

Delhi govt identifies 4 hospitals for installation of SPV plants

Delhi government has identified four city hospitals for the installation of solar photovoltaic (SPV) plants.
The four hospitals were SPV plants will be installed are Chacha Nehru Bal Chikilsalaya in Geeta Colony, Raja Harishchandra Hospital in Narela, Jag Parvesh Chandra Hospital in Shastri Park and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in Hari Nagar.
"The work is under progress on installation of four 25 kWp SPV Plants at the four government hospitals which are expected to be installed and commissioned by the end of September this year," said LG House officials.
Further, 4 solar... Read more..

Date : Aug 29

Source: Zee News

A second wind for India’s energy market: financing mechanisms to support India’s National Wind Energy Mission

India is struggling with skyrocketing energy demands, declining energy supplies, and peak load blackouts and shortages that limit energy access. The country’s recent economic growth has depended largely on fossil fuels, resulting in greater energy security concerns, higher electricity pricing, and increased pollution. At the same time, the Indian government recognizes that wind energy can be a significant clean energy resource. Supported by initial government policies, India is already the fifth-largest wind energy producer, achieving 20 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind power. Yet, much... Read more..

Date : Aug 29

Source: India Environment Portal

Draft Solar Power Tariff - Ground Mounted Grid Connected and Solar Rooftop with Net Metering Regulations - 2014

Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for Goa and Union Territories (UT) on 4th July 2014 has released a draft Regulation of Solar Tariff applicable to Ground Mounted Grid Connected & Rooftop Solar with Net Metering. The regulation shall be applicable to all grid connected Solar PV (including rooftop PV) and solar thermal projects of Goa and the Union Territories. The primary objective of the policy is to reduce the power deficit in the Union Territories through Solar Power generation. The policy aims to replace diesel power generation by solar power.

Date : Aug 29

Source: India Environment Portal

Commitment accounting of CO2 emissions

The world not only continues to build new coal-fired power plants, but built more new coal plants in the past decade than in any previous decade. Worldwide, an average of 89 gigawatts per year of new coal generating capacity was added between 2010 and 2012, 23 GW/ yr more than in the 2000–2009 time period and 56 GW/yr more than in the 1990–1999 time period. Natural gas plants show a similar pattern. Assuming these plants operate for 40 years, the fossil-fuel burning plants built in 2012 will emit approximately 19 billion tons of CO2 (Gt CO2) over their lifetimes, versus 14 Gt CO2 actually... Read more..

Date : Aug 29

Source: IOP Science

E-waste miner Attero gets Rs 100 crore funding

Noida-based Attero, which mines precious metals like gold, silver and palladium from electronic waste (e-waste), has raised Rs 100 crore from a clutch of marquee investors led by Forum Synergies.
Existing investors Kalaari Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Granite Hill India Opportunity Ventures also participated in the Series C round of funding in the Nasa recognized technology innovator, which began operations in 2008.
The company holds the patent of a technology, which enables them to extract precious metals from e-waste at an average cost that's18 times lower than that... Read more..

Date : Aug 28

Source: Times of India

Grow-Trees.com and Vodafone to Plant 3 lakh Trees in Kanha-Pench to Develop India’s First Private Wildlife Corridor

Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecom services providers, and Grow-Trees.com, the exclusive Indian Planting Partner for United Nation’s Environment Program’s Billion Tree Campaign, today announced the formal launch of their join initiative to create India’s first private wildlife corridor.
This corridor is being developed between Kanha-Pench wildlife reserves by planting 3,00,000 trees over a 3-year period. The trees will be planted over 100 hectares of forest land between the two reserves.
To formally launch this plantation drive, Mr. Rohit Adya, External Affairs... Read more..

Date : Aug 28

Source: India CSR

Revolutionary Technology That Can Convert Plastic Waste Into Petrol And Diesel In India

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun have invented a technology that can convert plastic waste into high-grade petrol, diesel or aromatics. What’s more, this new fuel will cost Rs.30 to Rs.40 per litre! Read along to know more about the technology that can revolutionize the fuel that we use in our country!
India will soon become one of the very few countries in the world to convert plastic waste into high-grade petrol and diesel. This technology, developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun, has catapulted India into the league... Read more..

Date : Aug 28

Source: The Better India

MoT brings out Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India

The Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India, based on the recommendations of the core committee constituted to formulate Sustainable Tourism practices for the industry, has brought out a comprehensive Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI). The STCI guidelines brought out today by the Ministry will cover three core industry verticals – acommodation units (hotels), tour operators, and beaches, backwaters, lakes and rivers. As the next step, MoT has plans to formulate STCI for other verticals of travel and tourism including transport operators, airlines, etc.
Launching... Read more..

Date : Aug 28

Source: Travel Biz Monitor

Full extent of global coal 'binge' is hidden, say researchers

The climate impacts of the world's fossil-fuelled power plants are being underestimated because of poor accounting, say researchers. Governments would get a truer picture if they included the lifetime emissions of a facility in the year it goes into production. These "committed emissions" have been growing by 4% a year between 2000 and 2012, the scientists say. Power plants in China and India alone account for half of this commitment. At present, UN accounting procedures only include the emissions from coal and gas powered electricity generation in the year in which they occur.
"We'... Read more..

Date : Aug 28

Source: BBC

Shoddy e-waste recycling poisoning soil and water

The rudimentary method of recycling electronic waste in two major recycling hubs in the NCR has created a water and soil pollution crisis. A report released by Toxics Link on Monday-Impact of E-Waste Recycling on Water and Soil-shows extremely high levels of heavy metals in both drinking water and soil samples of the area.
Loni, an industrial area to the west of Ghaziabad, has about 40 units which have been engaged in backyard recycling practices for a long time. While the water samples were not that polluted, there was extensive soil pollution. Lead levels varied from 95.74 to 4,... Read more..

Date : Aug 28

Source: Times of India