Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Less wind power leads to power cuts

 The reduction in the availability of wind power on Tuesday compelled the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd to enforce power cuts for two to five hours in the state. However, load shedding was averted on Wednesday as the distribution company secured 1,200 MW power from the power exchange.

A statement issued by the distribution company said since the beginning of June the company had been getting 1,000 to 1,600 MW power from windmill farms from 1am to 10am and 5pm to 11pm. However, on Tuesday there was a reduction of about 800 MW in the wind power contribution... Read more..

Solar energy to power street lights in slums

 The slums in the city will promote the use of unconventional energy if the civic body's plan to use solar energy to power lights is approved.

A proposal to fit solar street lights in the slums has been tabled before the standing committee. The Shivajinagar assembly constituency has been selected for the project, followed by slums in Bopodi, Khairewadi and Patil Estate areas.

"This is the first time the slums in the city will have solar lights. Shivajinagar assembly areas have been selected for a rollout. The remaining areas will be taken up as and when the funds are... Read more..

Green energy to power over 50% homes in big cities

 The Narendra Modi-led government has started work on a plan to ensure half of all homes in major cities receive some power from solar or wind energy sources by 2019.

The plan includes fresh incentives to encourage companies and individuals to invest in renewable energy sources and setting up giant solar plants in states such as Rajasthan and Gujarat.

New plans for renewable energy are also in the pipeline for the Capital. Following a visit by a team to Gujarat — one of the top-performing states in green energy —Delhi government is looking at additional incentives to citizens... Read more..

Apex Smart Grid expansion into India

 Apex CoVantage, a global provider of Smart Grid technology and services, is extending its outreach to India through the deployment of Advanced Meter Reading (AMR/AMI) pilots with utilities. With more than seven million meters being installed worldwide, Apex CoVantage is an industry leader that has helped establish best practices for the reliability of AMI deployments in emerging markets.

Currently, India faces a number of issues with its meter reading services, including power theft, meter tampering, inaccurate data reporting, and difficulty verifying that reported readings matched... Read more..

India Minister Asks Goverment to Scrap Solar Duties: Line

 India’s transport minister has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to scrap a plan by the nation’s previous administration to impose duties on solar imports from China, the U.S., Malaysia and Taiwan, the Hindu Business Line reported.

Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari opposed the duties in a letter to Nirmala Sitharaman, his counterpart at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the newspaper reported. It didn’t say how it obtained the note. Gadkari set up Purti Solar Systems Pvt. in his home state of Maharashtra in 2010, according to the company’s... Read more..

'Move to slap duty on solar panel imports to hit energy push'

 The new government should review the official recommendation to impose anti-dumping duty on imports of solar panels or cells from Malaysia, the US, Taiwan and China as it would affect the renewable energy push in India, a CII official said today. 

Sumant Sinha, Chairman of the National Renewable Energy Committee of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said the Director General of Anti Dumping recommended to the Finance Ministry that Anti Dumping Duty (ADD) upto USD 0.81 (INR 48.6 per Watt) be imposed on imports from these countries.

"The imposition of this ADD will very... Read more..

India has right to reprocess spent n-fuel, says Russia

 India has the right to reprocess the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the Russian built Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) by a supplementary agreement with Russia, which relieved the builders from the responsibility to take over the discharged SNF as originally envisaged.

This was stated by A.Y. Khaperskaya, senior manager with Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, at the Atomexpo 2014 - the sixth international nuclear energy conference that was inaugurated here Monday.

"India has its own plans for spent fuel processing, so we do not figure in it. Instead, with Iran... Read more..

Panasonic, Samsung contest BEE claims over AC star rating

Panasonic and Samsung have contested announcement made by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) which said certain air conditioner models made by the two companies and Godrej failed to meet energy consumption norms.

Supporting the companies, Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) also said BEE’s testing norms are not in conformity with international standards as it was done in a single laboratory.

“We are not satisfied with the testing methodology of BEE and have... Read more..

Gujarat gets greener as hazardous waste use in cement kilns up 35 times in 5 years

In an example of how Gujarat has emerged as a front runner in taking green measures to ensure cleaner environment, the State has achieved fresh heights in utilisation of hazardous waste as resource by the cement industry. As per the latest data from the state regulator, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), utilisation of hazardous waste as alternative fuel and raw material (AFR) in cement kilns has witnessed mammoth jump of 35 times since 2009-10 from 15,693 tonnes per annum (TPA) to 5,43,569 TPA in 2013-14. Interestingly, during the past one year alone, the quantum of waste... Read more..

China way ahead of India in renewable energy space

Manufacturing and infrastructure aren't the only areas where China has beaten India hollow by establishing world-class capacities. The communist nation, the world's largest polluter, has stolen a march on India in the renewable energy space too, investing a cool $56 billion in the sector over the past few years, making India's $6 billion look paltry.

Representatives of the Narendra Modi government and industry experts say the country must consider China's model of penalising old coal-based plants, having an economically viable long-... Read more..

Solar panel makers yet to get government subsidy of over Rs 30 crore

When Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat he aggressively promoted renewable source of energy with focus on generating solar electricity. But the manufacturers of solar panels for water heater systems in the state are yet to get Rs 30 crore worth of subsidy since the last two years from the central government.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a scheme in 2010 under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission to encourage installation of solar water heaters. The mission had set a target of deploying 20,... Read more..

India uses 12.95% of green energy

The installed capacity of renewable energy has touched 32,269.6 Mw or is 12.95 per cent of the potential available in the country as on March 31, 2014. With this, renewable energy, including large hydro electric projects, constitutes 28.8 per cent of the overall installed capacity in India.

According to the India Renewable Energy Status Report 2014 released at the ongoing Green Summit 2014 in Bangalore on Thursday, the total renewable energy potential from various sources in India is 249,188 Mw. The untapped market potential for the... Read more..