Sustainability Outlook Headlines

UN Environment, 28 banks to take forward Paris climate agenda

In a bid to define the banking industry's role and responsibilities in shaping a sustainable future, the UN Environment Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and 28 banks from around the world have together developed a roadmap for responsible banking to take forward the agenda of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, officials said.

The new framework -- Principles for Responsible Banking -- was launched at the UNEP FI's... Read more..

NGT slaps Rs 5-cr fine on govt for ‘failing to combat’ air pollution in Kolkata, Howrah

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Tuesday fined the state government Rs 5 crore for failing to comply with its two-year-old directive to combat air pollution in Kolkata and Howrah.

A principal bench comprising judicial members Adarsh Goel and SP Wangdi and non-judicial member Nagin Nanda said the environmental compensation has been levied under Section 20 of the NGT Act and has to be paid to the Central... Read more..

Actis agrees to buy Essel Infra’s solar power projects for ₹5,500-6,000 crore

Private equity investor Actis LLP has agreed to buy Essel Infraprojects Ltd’s solar power projects for ₹5,500-6,000 crore, according to two people involved in the deal process. The deal would be formally announced by December-end, one of the two people said, requesting anonymity. Essel Infra, part of media mogul Subhash Chandra’s Essel Group, put its solar assets on the block in early 2018 and has spent most of the year negotiating with potential buyers. Essel has 685MW of installed capacity and under-... Read more..

Senvion gets 300-MW wind farm order in India

German wind turbine manufacturer Senvion SA (ETR:SEN) has obtained a conditional order to build a 300-MW wind park in the Indian state of Gujarat.

The company announced in a press release today that this deal brings the total turbine order book of Senvion India to above 1 GW, including supporting service contracts.

... Read more..

National Thermal Power Corporation invites 1,000 MW renewable energy tenders

To avail the benefits of the Central government’s flexible-generation scheme, NTPC has called for tenders from 1,000 MW of existing solar and wind generation plants to supply power to the company for one year. The ceiling tariff for the reverse auction for choosing solar/wind power plant has been kept at Rs 2.67/unit.

The power ministry, in April this year, had allowed thermal power generation companies (... Read more..

EU's climate chief calls for bloc to go for net-zero emissions by 2050

The European Union's climate chief on Tuesday called on the bloc to aim for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the most ambitious path in a long-term strategy due to be announced on Wednesday.

With President Donald Trump pulling the United States out of international efforts to curb global warming, Miguel Arias Canete said the EU had to lead by example at the next round of United Nations talks on... Read more..

Freyr Energy raises Rs 27 crore

Freyr Energy, a Hyderabad-based rooftop solar company, has raised Rs 27 crore through a mix of equity and debt. This Series-A round was led by C4D Partners, a Netherlands-based Impact Investment Fund.

Last year, Freyr Energy had secured seed funding from Doen-Participaties, another Netherlands-based investment company that invests into innovative and sustainable start-ups.

... Read more..

CDC Group plans Ayana stake sale to raise $100 million

CDC Group Plc, the UK government’s development finance institution, plans to raise around $100 million by selling a stake in Ayana Renewable Power, its renewable energy platform recently launched in India, two people aware of the development said. CDC had in January announced the launch of Ayana, which it said would develop hundreds of megawatts of generation capacity for underserved states in India as well as countries in South Asia such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

... Read more..

Maha to extend CM's agri solar scheme across the state

After the success of a pilot project, the Maharashtra government plans to extend the chief minister's agricultural solar feeder scheme in the rest of the state. 

The pilot project of the scheme was introduced last year in two places in Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar and Kolambi in Yawatmal. 

"The scheme is a... Read more..

PSPCL to revive Jalkheri power plant

The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has initiated the process to revive the Jalkheri biomass-based power plant with 1x10MW capacity on renovate, operate and transfer (ROT) basis. The power plant has been lying idle for 11 years now.

The technical bids for the project were opened on November 22, which saw three companies putting up their offer. Chairman cum managing director of the PSPCL,... Read more..

NITI Aayog in the driver’s seat for ambitious EV rollout plan

NITI Aayog, the government’s apex policy think tank, has been tasked with rolling out an ambitious electric vehicle (EV) plan, pushing the department of heavy industries (DHI) into a tertiary role for a policy that is aimed at projecting India as a global torchbearer of green vehicles.

The DHI under the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises is the nodal authority for the automotive sector and... Read more..

Trigeneration technology: Maharashtra signs pacts with EESL for 7 MW projects

The Maharashtra government today signed pacts with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) to implement gas-based trigeneration projects in selective facilities including government-owned hospitals, guest houses, hostels, offices and other government buildings. 

The agreements were signed with Medical Education & Drugs Department, Public Works Department (PWD), General Administration Department GAD (... Read more..