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Sustainability Outlook Headlines
The world will get half its power from wind, solar by 2050Nearly half the world’s electricity will come from renewable energy by 2050 as costs of wind, solar and battery storage continue to plummet. That titanic shift over the next three decades will come as electricity demand increases 62% and investors pump $13.3 trillion into new projects, according to a report released Tuesday by BloombergNEF. The move away from fossil fuel has sweeping implications for energy markets and the fight to stave off climate change. Wind, solar and batteries are poised to enable the... Read more.. |
Companies Line Up To Prospect 7.5 Gigawatt Solar Power Park In IndiaOne of India’s largest solar power parks, and certainly the most challenging to implement and operate, has attracted tremendous interest from some of the leading technology companies and project developers. Indian media news outlets reported that representatives from 20 leading companies in the power and renewable energy domain visited the sites for the proposed 7.5 gigawatt solar power park planned in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The solar park will be divided into two projects — a 5 gigawatt project in... Read more.. |
SIAM pushes for enhanced alternative fuels penetration amid focus on electric vehiclesAutomobile industry body SIAM has proposed making petrol-powered two-wheelers and passenger vehicles material compatible with 10 per cent ethanol (E10) and 3 per cent methanol (M3) blends by 2025. In a white paper on 'Alternative Fuels for Vehicles' released recently, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) also said that by 2030, the auto industry could make specific vehicles compatible with 20 per cent ethanol (E20)-blended gasoline depending upon sustained availability of fuels with... Read more.. |
Uttar Pradesh: Electric buses to operate in 9 citiesCity transport will get a boost in nine cities including Lucknow with electric buses ferrying commuters in days to come. Under PPP model, the directorate of urban transport has selected private firms which will deliver and maintain 630 electric buses in nine cities. Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Agra and Ghaziabad will get 100 buses each. Varanasi and Mathura-Vrindavan will get 50 buses each. Gorakhpur will get 20 and Shahjahanpur will get ten electric buses. What is needed now is the state government’s... Read more.. |
Bharat Forge to cut down on capex but increase investment in EV companiesBharat Forge, the country’s largest forging company, will reduce capital expenditure (capex) in India this year, and will instead focus on sweating its assets and make select investments in electric technology companies. A total of Rs 1,250 crore was earmarked for FY19 and FY20, including a capex program of Rs 850 crore, which will encompass units in Nellore (in Andhra Pradesh), Baramati (in Maharashtra), and forging and machining facilities. The capex included Rs 500 crore for FY19, and Rs 350 crore for the... Read more.. |
Diversifying crops will mitigate climate impact in India: StudyDiversifying the crops in India can be an effective way to adapt its food-production systems to the growing influence of extreme climate change, said US researchers including Indian-origin. The team studied the effects of climate change on five major crops: finger millet, maize, pearl millet, sorghum and rice which make up the vast majority of grain production during the June-to-September monsoon season in India -- with rice contributing three-quarters of the grain supply for the season. Taken together, the... Read more.. |
Uptick for India on sanitation in UN reportIndia has made great gains in providing basic sanitation facilities since the start of the millennium, accounting for almost two thirds of the 650 million people globally who stopped practising open defecation between 2000 and 2017. However, a monitoring report by UN organisations released on Tuesday also shows that there has been absolutely no growth in the population with access to piped water facilities over that period, while large inequalities remain between rural and urban areas. As for drinking water,... Read more.. |
India will lead by example in combating desertification: Union Environment MinisterUnion Environment Minister today said that we as a country make targets not under any global pressure but for our own country’s real sustainable development, and as in the past India will play a leadership role and will lead by example in combating desertification. Speaking at an event in New Delhi on the occasion of World Day to combat desertification and drought Shri Javadekar announced that India will be hosting the fourteenth session of Conference of Parties (COP – 14) from 29th August – 14th September... Read more.. |
Clean Mobility | India’s resolve to become an electric vehicle country by 2030 is taking shapeIndia's government is not only serious about clean mobility but is in a hurry to get there. India is planning to mandate cab-hailing companies like Ola and Uber to “convert 40 percent of their fleet” of vehicles to electric by April 2026, according to a report by Reuters, If implemented, this will be the first major step by the Modi government to reach its goal of converting India into a 100 percent electric vehicle nation by 2030, from its current state of infancy. In the year ended March, only 3,600 units... Read more.. |
Solar energy to be used for government offices – Revenue Minister Chandrakant PatilSolar energy is the best alternative to electricity and in the future all the government offices in the state will be using solar energy, said Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil here Monday. He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of workshop on Scoping Mission for Solar Rooftop at Hotel Trident. He said use of solar energy is the need of our time and that can save coal and water on a large scale. Besides, this availability of environment-friendly power will reduce carbon percentage on a large scale and... Read more.. |
Impose green cess on polluting vehicles to support EVs: SMEV"We strongly advocate the imposition of a notional green cess on the polluting vehicles and use it to accelerate electric mobility," SMEV Director General Sohinder Gill said in a statement. Electric vehicle makers' body SMEV Monday called for imposition of 'green cess' on polluting vehicles besides seeking putting of EVs in priority lending sector to accelerate creation of a robust ecosystem. In its Budget wish list, the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) also asked the government for a... Read more.. |
Tax carbon emission instead of blanket ban on non-electric vehicles, says CII PresidentCII President Vikram Kirloskar feels that the Centre should tax carbon emission instead of going for a blanket ban on the sale of non-electric vehicles. “Don’t say don’t do X and don’t do Y. Reduce your carbon consumption. Incentivise the carbon or punish the carbon and let the market decide,” he told BusinessLine when asked about the recent proposal to ban the sale of non-electric two-wheelers. Kirloskar is also the Vice Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor and the Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts Private Ltd. The... Read more.. |
All you wanted to know about CAFE regulationsVehicular pollution is occupying centre-stage again. While the government is looking to advance the 2030 deadline for Indian manufacturers to switch over to electric vehicles in segments such as bikes and three-wheelers, manufacturers are opposing it. Target cleaner air through stricter CAFE norms instead, say some voices in the industry. What is it? CAFE or Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency/Economy regulations are in force in many advanced as well as developing nations, including India. They aim at lowering... Read more.. |
Delhi Launches App To Book Slot At EV Charging StationsThe first electric vehicle charging station in a public area has been installed in India’s capital city Delhi. Along with the charging station, a mobile phone application has also been launched to help electric vehicle users. One of the power distribution utilities operational in Delhi, BSES, launched Delhi’s first electric vehicle charging station in a public area. There are electric charging stations operational within Delhi. However, they are located within the premises of government-owned companies that... Read more.. |
Ministers agree on global marine plastic pollution framework ahead of G20 Osaka SummitEnvironment and energy ministers have agreed to tackle global marine plastic pollution with the implementation of new framework, ahead of the G20 Osaka Summit in Japan. On Sunday, the Japanese government confirmed the decision, made by 20 ministers at the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth, which was co-organised by the Ministry of the Environment and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy under the Japanese G20 presidency. The G20 is made up of 19... Read more.. |
Global Renewable Energy Industry Employs 11 Million PeopleThe International Renewable Energy Agency reported last week that 11 million people were employed in the renewable energy industry around the world in 2018, a 6% increase over 2017 and continued proof that the industry continues to increase its role in the global economy and energy mix. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) Renewable Energy and Jobs annual review, the global renewable energy sector employed 11 million people in 2018, up from 10.3 million in 2017. However, employment... Read more.. |
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. Collaborates with Intellecap to Anchor ‘Circular Apparel Innovation Factory’ as Part of its Sustainability StrategyAditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. (ABFRL) is joining a unique and pioneering industry-led platform, ‘Circular Apparel Innovation Factory’ (CAIF) in collaboration with Intellecap. CAIF is India’s first industry-led platform, aiming to build a circular apparel and textile industry in India. Its mission is to search, seed, support, and scale circular textile and apparel innovations in India by building an enabling ecosystem of brands, manufacturers, enterprises, and innovators across the value chain. Through... Read more.. |
Involving tribal communities can boost India's wildlife conservation: IIT profIndia's wildlife conservation initiatives need the involvement of local tribal communities- rather than the token activism of urban dwellers- to ensure that humans and animals coexist peacefully, according to an IIT expert. Ambika Aiyadurai, assistant professor of Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, said that it is high time that wildlife conservation projects in the country are revaluated. "We borrowed the idea of national park, thinking it will protect wildlife. But there are... Read more.. |
First pilot floating solar plant to be completed in next 2-3 months: VedantaVedanta on Monday said its first pilot floating solar plant will be completed in the next two to three months. In an investor brief, the company said it is focussing on renewable energy and its group firm Hindustan Zinc plans its "first pilot floating solar to be completed in next 2-3 months". Vikram Solar, module manufacturer and rooftop solar and EPC solutions provider, had earlier in the year announced that it bagged the project order for a 1-MW floating solar plant for Hindustan Zinc Ltd, a Vedanta Group firm. The plant will be located at Ghosunda Dam, near... Read more.. |
Delhi: Solar power can save you Rs 46,000 in yearly billThe city’s much-needed push for solar energy could be just around the corner with Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) finally notifying the group net metering (GNM) and virtual net metering (VNM) framework, which will benefit thousands of RWAs, households and CGHS societies. Users will be able to benefit from a single solar plant at one location with the surplus energy being sent back to the grid and adjusted with the bill of each meter connected to it. This will, in theory, allow members of a... Read more.. |
As the sun shines, Dwarka societies reap cash benefitsWhile the capital may be lagging behind in availing benefits by installing solar rooftop panels, especially in residential localities, a few housing societies have been able to cash in on the opportunity by saving lakhs of rupees annually. A majority of these are CGHS societies in Dwarka that were provided solar panels last year under the ‘Solar City Initiative - Solarise Dwarka’ scheme by BSES in collaboration with TERI and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ India) under the Indo-... Read more.. |
Green power: Renewable energy use rises, but still behind targetRajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab, Maharashtra and Telangana — which have 56% of the country's installed renewable capacity — could not fulfil the RPOs in FY19, though they all met the target in FY18. The use of renewable power by states is on the rise but is trailing the targets set by the power ministry. Among major states, only Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka met the renewable purchase obligation in FY18 and FY19. Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab, Maharashtra and Telangana — which have 56% of the... Read more.. |
New Lithium-ion Battery Tech Charges 300 km in Just 10 minsChinese researchers have developed a high-energy Lithium-ion Battery (LIB) technology, which could enable a running distance of 300 km per 10 minutes of charging. The debut of a passenger car loaded with the 50-kWh battery pack was held in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang Province on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported. "The key to this fast-charging technology is the R&D of fast lithium-ion conducting materials," said Zhou Xiaoping, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Hunan University and Chief... Read more.. |
US-based First Solar in talks to sell 45MW of solar assets in IndiaAmerican solar panel maker First Solar is exploring a potential sale of around 45 megawatts (MW) of its solar power assets in India, two people aware of the development said. First Solar is a leading global provider of photovoltaic (PV) solar systems and has supplied solar panels worth over 20 gigawatts (GW), according to the company’s website. The company reported a revenue of $2.2 billion in 2018. “First Solar has started engaging with prospective buyers for sale of its solar assets of 45MW. These assets... Read more.. |
Indian farmers are using the sun to help water their cropsHundreds of millions of people in India depend on farming for their livelihoods, but widespread droughts in recent years mean they often struggle to find enough water for their fields. Rain evaporates fast in the country's punishing summer heat, forcing farmers to rely on expensive and polluting diesel pumps to access groundwater for irrigation. A company called Khethworks is trying to fix the problem by harnessing one of the causes — the intense sunlight that's in plentiful supply almost all year round.... Read more.. |
