Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Tetra Pak facility receives Platinum certification on environment

Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has awarded platinum certification for green factory building to the packaging material facility of Swedish multinational Tetra Pak in Chakan, Pune.

The platinum certification is the highest recognition for sustainable building design and is equivalent to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

The Chakan facility, which started operations in 2012 and is the second largest for Tetra Pak globally, has also become the first facility for Tetra Pak to receive a LEED-... Read more..

PE  firms’ interest in renewable energy sector remains high

Despite a lull in private equity investment in infrastructure, interest in renewable energy remains high, with at least two deals being negotiated, according to two investment bankers aware of the discussions.

US-based private equity firm KKR and Co. is evaluating the possibility of investing around $100 million in renewable power projects of Greenko Group, a UK-based group that has power projects in India, said the first investment banker quoted above. Both declined to be named.

A Greenko spokesperson and Sanjay Nayar, chief executive officer at KKR India, declined to... Read more..

Strong long-term demand outlook for wind energy sector: ICRA

Credit rating agency Icra today said the long-term demand outlook for wind power remains strong mainly on account of cost-competitiveness, regulatory support and the generation-based incentive benefit. 

"The long-term demand outlook for the wind energy sector remains strong, aided by the cost-competitiveness of wind energy against the fossil fuels and regulatory support in place by way of renewable purchase obligation (RPO) norms for the obligated entities, besides the financial support by way of GBI (generation based incentive) benefit," Icra said in a study. 

The study,... Read more..

Lighting up remote villages in North East

Remote rural villages in the whole of the Northeastern region not connected to the power grid will soon be able to manage their own power and get clean and renewable energy once the hydrogers developed by Nagaland Empowerment of People through Energy Development (NEPeD) reach the power-less villages.

A member of NEPeD said the agency has been trying to light up the powerless remote villages with its 3 KW hydroger that can facilitate sustainable development and help change the rural economy. So far, the NEPeD has installed 25 hydrogers – 22 in Nagaland and one each in Meghalaya,... Read more..

Clean energy sector misses capacity target

Renewable energy sector in the country missed capacity addition target for the second year in a row. As against the target of 4325 mw, the new capacity addition stood at 3640 mw. But, the year saw cumulative installed capacity in the green energy sector cross 30,000 mw.

All segments such as wind, solar, small hydro, biomass and waste-to-power added lower than their annual targets. Solar added 962 mw as against 1100 mw, while wind segment’s capacity addition stood at 2083 mw as against the target of 2500 mw.

Overall, wind sector contributed 2500 mw, while the rest was... Read more..

More takers for IISc water purification model

The sustainable mode to mitigate the water crisis in Bangalore created by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) - by purifying lake water for domestic use - has now caught the attention of the local residents.

They are now inviting IISc experts to replicate the method in their area as civic agencies have failed to keep the water bodies clean.

Under this method, lake water - which is already being treated in primary and secondary treatment plants - can be further purified environmentally and made fit for human consumption. Prof T V Ramachandra of the Centre for Ecological... Read more..

MoEF defers green nod to Maharashtra Mining Corp coal block

A high-level panel in the Environment Ministry has deferred the decision on granting green approval to Maharashtra State Mining Corp Ltd's opencast coal mining project in Maharashtra.

"The proponent informed the Committee (Environment Appraisal Committee) that the Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) had recommended that block is liable for deallocation.

"In view of the recommendations of the IMG, the committee deferred the project for further consideration," according to an official document.

It further said: "The EAC has noted that Ministry of Coal... Issued show-cause... Read more..

Odisha to expedite promoting the low carbon industrial development in the State

The State Government on Thursday said it would expedite promoting the low carbon industrial development in the State in order to control pollution. A State-level workshop to this effect was organised here on behalf of the Finance Department.

Addressing on the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary Finance UN Behera said though the per capita GHE (Green House Emission) in India is far low (around 1.18 tonnes) against other developed countries like US where per capita  GHE is around 20 tonnes, still India has adopted the principles of reducing GHE. “The Odisha Government has already... Read more..

Czech envoy evinces interest in cooperation with Haryana

Czech Republic has evinced interest in mutual cooperation with Haryana in the areas of water management, power and solid waste management.

Ambassador of Czech Republic to India Miloslav Stasek along with a seven-member business delegation called on Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here today to discuss various issues of mutual interest and expressed desire to invest in Haryana, an official spokesman said.

Haryana Renewable Energy Minister Harmohinder Singh Chattha, Power Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav and Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surejewala also attended... Read more..

Solar sets factory, commercial units roofs ablaze

Anand Sunderasan, the head of Indian operations of Schwing Stetter, the German concrete machinery manufacturer, rues the orientation the roof of the company’s factory in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai. The roof, like most others in the industrial suburb, slopes East and West from a rib in the middle but Sunderasan would have so much preferred it to be sloping south.

He could then populate the 7,00,000 sq feet of space with solar panels enough for at least 600 kW of capacity. The problem is not insurmountable, literally and figuratively, but a south-sloping roof would have been a desk-... Read more..

Inspect polluting industries: National Green Tribunal

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday ordered the inspection of nearly 1,000 industries in UP for polluting the Ganga by releasing untreated effluents into its waters.

The principal bench of the tribunal has directed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and National Ganga River Basin Authority to jointly conduct these inspections.

The bench issued the order on Tuesday after UPPCB submitted a list of 956 industries that are polluting the Ganga and its tributaries. These units mostly include tanneries, paper pulp manufacturing units,... Read more..

Govt to charge fees to issue environmental clearance

NAGPUR: Taking a cue from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, the state government has decided to charge companies applying for environmental clearance. The minimum fee is Rs 1 lakh, and maximum Rs15 lakh, with the cost of the project determining the exact fee.

While the government has decided to levy fee it does not seem to give much importance to the agencies that issue clearances. State level expert appraisal committees (SEACs) are not constituted for months after they are dissolved, holding up projects for months. There are three SEACs in the state.

As per central government norms,... Read more..