Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Toshiba wants to buy Alstom power grid business from GE: Nikkei

Toshiba Corp (6502.T) will offer to buy Alstom's (ALSO.PA) power grid business for "several hundred billion yen" if General Electric Co (GE.N) completes its planned purchase of Alstom's energy business, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

GE has offered to buy Alstom's energy business, which makes power generation systems along with power grids, for about $16.9 billion.

The French company said last week it was reviewing GE's offer but has also given Germany's Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE) until the end of May to make a rival bid.

A spokesman for GE declined to comment on the Nikkei... Read more..

Delhi air worst in the world

Delhi has the most polluted air in the world. A World Health Organization (WHO) air quality database of 1,600 cities and 91 countries released on Wednesday shows that the concentration of PM2.5 (fine, respirable particles) is the highest in Delhi at 153 micrograms per cubic metre (g/m³) when the WHO standard is just about 10g/m³. The fine, particulate pollution which is considered most dangerous for health is way higher in Delhi compared with many other crowded Asian cities, including Beijing which has a PM2.5 level of 56g/m³, Karachi (117g/m³) and Shanghai (36g/m³).

The... Read more..

Renewable energy ministry opposes anti-dumping duties on imported solar modules

With the verdict on the anti-dumping duty on international solar modules round the corner, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) and several state governments are siding with solar power project developers to say that the ministry of commerce should not impose an anti-dumping duty on international panels.

Over the last few months, a battle has been raging between Indian solar panel makers and power project developers on the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imported panels. Indian manufacturers say they are losing... Read more..

Solar surge brings green heat and hope to India's far north

Tsering Nurbo of Leh town in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir proudly explains how the smart design of his new home has eased the hardships he and his wife suffered during the mountain region’s extreme winters.

“Now the hard work - which we had to put in to keep our home warm - has reduced many-fold,” he said. “Before we had to use a lot of firewood and cow dung for generating warmth. Now we are not doing that any more thanks to our new house.”

Nurbo doesn’t know that the house he now owns is... Read more..

Aviation carbon emissions hotly debated at industry environment summit

ICAO’s landmark commitment to develop a global market-based measure for aviation carbon emissions, government and industry partnerships, and sustainable development were all on the agenda at the Global Sustainable Aviation Summit today.

Organised by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), the 7th aviation environment summit at the Hotel President Wilson in Geneva opened today and finishes tomorrow.

The hot topic was the decision made in September 2013 at the ICAO Assembly, where governments agreed... Read more..

Waste water to save South Corporation parks

With depleting water levels in south Delhi, the municipal corporation is finding it difficult to maintain its parks, especially the ornamental ones.

Although South Delhi Municipal Corporation has borewells in most of the big parks, officials say 10-15% of these have dried up. With the Delhi government not permitting new borewells or re-boring, the civic agency has decided to use treated sewer water to maintain the greens. In the first phase, the project will be implemented in Sarita Vihar and Vasant Kunj in south Delhi, and Keshopur... Read more..

Solar gear importers likely to face steep dumping duty

India is likely to impose a steep duty on importers of solar cells following vociferous complaints from domestic manufacturers, threatening the viability of about 4,000 Mw of recently tendered solar power projects across the country. 

Although the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) did not disclose the numbers, the officials said on the condition of anonymity that the duty is likely to be high given that the initial investigation has found the dumping rate to be about 80%. 

Even a minimal... Read more..

Mahindra May Have Cracked The Indian EV Market

Mahindra’s recent slash on the purchase price of its electric car (E2O) to Rs. 4.99 lakhs and the increasing inflation in the cost of vehicle fuel relative to the cost per kWh for electricity, has positively altered the price attractiveness of the Electric Vehicles.

In alignment with our previous analysis on electric cars last year, the recent purchase price drop for the E2O has better positioned the car to compete with other alternatives in the Indian market. However, the relative inflation of petrol vs. electricity costs is likely... Read more..

How Bangalore's New Recycling Plan Helps Its Poorest Residents

As 38-year-old Annamma holds up her government-issued ID card, she can't stop grinning. She has come a long way from her childhood on the streets: rootless, homeless, faceless. She grew up with four siblings and one name, common for children of illiterate parents here. The kids would rummage with their parents in garbage dumps for paper or plastic to sell to recyclers. They were a family of waste-pickers, driven by poverty from their native South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh to the booming IT hub of Bangalore in neighboring Karnataka.

... Read more..

MERC allows Adani Power compensatory tariff of Rs 1.01/unit

In a major relief to Adani Power, Maharashtra electricity regulator MERC has allowed the power producer to charge Mahavitaran an additional Rs 1.01 per unit as compensatory tariff for 800 mw. 

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) in an order today allowed Adani PowerBSE 1.65 % to charge a compensatory tariff of Rs 1.01 per unit for only 800 mw. With this, the total power purchase cost from the 800 mw works out to Rs 3.65 per unit. 

Adani Power Maharashtra had entered into an agreement with the state utility Mahavitaran to supply power from its two units--... Read more..

5 Keys To Sustainable Development In Indian Cities

Indian cities are urbanising at an unprecedented scale and pace. Over the next few decades, India’s urban population is expected to increase significantly, from 377 million in 2011 to 590 million by 2030.

The problem is that the country’s existing urban transport infrastructure is already over-capacity. This fact – coupled with the alarmingly high rate of traffic fatalities, increasing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, congestion, and urban sprawl – has created a sense of urgency to improve the quality of life in our... Read more..

Suzlon hopes to get new wind projects of 300-500 MW in FY15

Suzlon Energy, world's 5th largest wind turbine maker, hopes to get orders for 300-500 MW this fiscal following changes in renewable energy policies in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, a senior company official said.

"The major markets for new projects in India are states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Seemandhara and Gujarat," he said. "We are well positioned to convert these opportunities into sales and implementation."

India already has the 5th largest wind generation capacity in the... Read more..