Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Gujarat has put just one e-vehicle on the road in last six months: Govt data

Electric vehicles (EVs) have garnered a lot of focus in India of late, but the rate at which its states have added EVs on the roads hasn't been encouraging. Gujarat, which leads the EV chart, managed to add only one car to an existing base of 31,576 in the past six months, according to the dashboard on the website of FAME - Faster Adoption and Manufacture of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles - scheme. The state's target is to have 100,000 EVs by 2022. Runners-up Maharashtra, which set a target of registering five lakh EVs by 2022 - an average of 274 vehicles per day - managed only four per... Read more..

Bio-methanation plant commissioned in Coimbatore

In yet another addition to measures taken to process solid waste, the city on Saturday got a bio-methanation plant, thanks to funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Swiss Federal Councillor and Head, Federal Department of Environment, Transport and Energy and Communication, Simonetta Sommaruga inaugurated the ₹ 45 lakh bio-methanation plant at the Coimbatore Corporation’s workshop at Bharati Park. A release from the Swiss Embassy said the Swiss Agency had financed the project under the Capacity Building for Low Carbon and Climate Resilient City Development in India... Read more..

Ford partnership likely to fire up Mahindra’s sputtering EV business

The recent partnership with Ford Motor Co. is likely to be a big shot in the arm for Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) in turning around its electric vehicle (EV) business, where M&M was one of the first movers in India and where it has pumped in several hundred crores. The partnership with Ford is likely to boost Mumbai-based M&M’s chances of succeeding in the EV space, because of the Detroit-based automaker’s scale and access to critical EV supply chain, said industry experts and people aware of the plans. “Under the strategic alliance with Ford, M&M will jointly develop... Read more..

UT readies to give a big push to electric vehicles

Replacing petrol and diesel vehicles with electric vehicles is the main focus of the UT Administration in the next 10 years as it has prepared a draft electric vehicle policy. In the draft policy, many incentives, including waiving road tax and registration charges on electric vehicles and free insurance for five years, have been proposed. Uma Shankar Gupta, Director, Transport, UT, said the draft policy was ready but the department was awaiting guidelines on the subject from the Centre. Gupta said once they receive the guidelines, they would put the draft policy in public domain before... Read more..

City to get 32 charging stations for e-vehicles

With an aim to promote to e-mobility in the district, 32 charging stations for electric vehicles will be installed in Thiruvananthapuram. The government has accorded administrative sanction for the project taken up as part of its electric vehicle policy. As per the policy, the state aims to introduce one million electric vehicles on the road by 2022. Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) was appointed as the nodal agency for setting up electronic-vehicle charging stations. KSEB had submitted a proposal for installing charging stations at 185 locations in six cities in the state. “The... Read more..

Gurugram: Genset ban must, find ways to supply power, discom told

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has dismissed a plea filed by Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam (DHBVN) seeking more time to implement the ban on diesel gensets in NCR cities of the state. The green tribunal said the discom should find other ways to prevent use of gensets and provide electricity. “The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been duly notified under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and is binding, and that the impugned order is merely enforcing the GRAP. There is no illegality therein. Impugned action is an undoubted need for protection of environment... Read more..

Roundtable on Skill Development for Electric Vehicles organized by DFID, ASDC and SSOU

A roundtable conference was held by the Department for International Development (DFID), Govt. of UK, Automotive Skill Development Council (ASDC) and Symbiosis Skills & Open University (SSOU) in Pune. The agenda was to deliberate on the possible interventions that can be taken up in the Electric Vehicles space for Skill Development with mutual industry collaboration under the DFID sponsored Skills for Jobs Programme. The round table conference also involved vetting/validation of the Qualification Packs developed by ASDC. It may be mentioned that FICCI is one of the partners of the... Read more..

Unique device to curb pollution

An IIT Kharagpur graduate has invented a device called “PM 2.5” which he claimed when fitted near the silencer pipe in vehicles will curb air pollution. Debayan Saha, a mechanical engineering graduate from IIT Kharagpur, who has invented the device claims that one car fitted with the device can neutralise the pollution emitted from 10 cars in its vicinity. “The technology developed by us uses a combination of electric energy and wave energy to influence the pollutants like PM 2.5 such that they act like magnet attracting other particulate pollutants from the ambient atmosphere to get... Read more..

India to build 30 gigawatts of renewable plants along western border

India is considering building 30 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity along a desert on its western border known for its sunny, windy and arid expanse, according to people familiar with the plan. The projects, which will be spread across the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, are part of efforts to expand the country’s renewable capacity and reduce the share of fossil fuels in its energy mix, the people said, asking not to be named as the discussions are private and at an early stage. The plan was discussed at a meeting in Gujarat last week, they said. Land for renewable projects is a key... Read more..

Andhra Pradesh regulator approves solar power tariffs

The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has waded into the row over attempts to renegotiate signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) by ordering state power distribution companies to honor the contracts. Regulatory approval of the solar power price set in public tenders is usually issued as a formality but power companies had dug in their heels to await the regulatory stamp of approval after an attempt by the state government to renegotiate the prices had been stymied by the courts. The power prices in question range from Rs2.72-3.15/kWh and formed the basis of power... Read more..

Inox Wind declares indefinite lockout at its Rohika plant

Bengaluru: Inox Wind, one of India’s biggest wind-turbine manufacturers, has declared an indefinite lockout at its plant at Rohika, Ahmedabad, from October 22, blaming its workers and the situation in the wind-power market.

The company, which manufactures 2 MW machines, has fully operational plants in Ahmedabad, Indore and Una in Himachal Pradesh. The Rohika plant manufactures 900 rotor blades and 1,500 steel towers a year, employing more than 1,200 people directly and indirectly.

In a letter addressed to the labour commissioner, Inox Wind said its workmen have resorted to “... Read more..

LGT Lightstone looks to fund AMP’s India unit

NEW DELHI : Attracted by India’s green energy trajectory, LGT Lightstone Aspada plans to invest up to $50 million in Canadian firm AMP Solar Group’s India unit, said four people aware of the development. The India-focused impact investment platform will acquire a significant minority stake in AMP Energy. The investment, to be announced shortly, will help form the beachhead for Lichtenstein investor LGT, a bank and fund manager with around $220 billion of assets, to foray into the Indian subcontinent’s energy market. LGT Lightstone Aspada, the world’s largest family-owned private banking... Read more..