Sustainability Outlook Headlines

SECI tenders 250MW of solar in Maharashtra

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a tender for 250MW of solar capacity at the Dondaicha Solar Park (Phase-1) in Dhule, Maharashtra.

The capacity will be split into five projects of 50MW each, with projects set up on a Build Own Operate (BOO) basis.

Power procured by SECI from the project... Read more..

$1-billion Greenko-Orange deal faces strong headwinds

The $1-billion deal involving Greenko’s acquisition of the wind and solar energy assets of Orange Renewables has hit a roadblock and could be shelved, sources familiar with the development said.

The deal would have hoisted Greenko, backed by Singapore’s GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, to the top league in India’s renewable energy space and made it the country’s second-largest company in the domain,... Read more..

Tata Power installs 6MW rooftop solar project at Indian oil refinery

Tata Power has built a 6MW rooftop solar project across 34 rooftops of an oil refinery site of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, which is based in the south Indian state of Karnataka.

Tata Power chose 95 string inverters for the project from PV inverter manufacturer Goodwe, which has an Indian office in Mumbai. The GoodWe MT Series inverters (50-70kW), which are aimed at the C&I solar market... Read more..

India’s largest offshore wind energy tender: 34 companies participate in EoI

Thirty-four companies, including some of the largest global and domestic wind energy players, participated in the Expression of Interest (EoI) floated by the government on the plan to set up the country’s first mega offshore wind farm. 

MNRE held discussions over two days last month with interested parties following the EoI. In the next stage, the ministry will design the main tender document based on the... Read more..

Solar panels to light up corporation's buildings in Chennai, save electricity

Greater Chennai Corporation’s long-delayed plan to install solar panels atop corporation-owned buildings has received approval from the state, enabling the civic body to tap solar energy and cut its electricity bills.

However, as planned earlier, instead of 1,000 buildings, the rooftops of 662 corporation-owned buildings such as schools, primary health centers, offices, public halls, and dispensaries will be... Read more..

BHEL Trichy adds e-mobility to its business portfolio

Bhel Trichy has added e-mobility (electric mobility) to its business portfolio as part of diversification measures. The process of prototype development and obtaining necessary certifications to foray into e-mobility is being carried out to capitalise on the emerging business opportunities. The policy decision was shared... Read more..

Government's solar plan for farmers hits funding roadblock

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious solar project for farmers called Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) has been red flagged by the Finance Ministry, Business Standard reported.

The scheme was announced in the last budget wherein farmers would be get loans... Read more..

India-born British billionaire launches renewable plan in Australia

India-born British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta has launched a $1 billion, one-gigawatt renewable energy plan based in South Australia’s mid-north that he says will lead the country’s industry transition to more competitive power.

In the first of a number of projects slated for the upper Spencer Gulf region, will include a 120MW lithium-ion battery bigger than the 100MW battery built by Elon Musk’s Tesla in... Read more..

Tariffs fall at NTPC's solar auction

Tariffs dropped at NTPC’s latest auction of 2,000 MW of solar projects on Tuesday, suggesting that developers have not yet begun factoring in the safeguard duty of 25% imposed on imported solar panels by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

The winning tariffs were all in the range of Rs 2.59-2.60 per unit, which is lower than the tariffs reached at NTPC’s last such auction of 750 MW in May... Read more..

Renewable energy to power 80% of metro rail operations, tenders floated

Metro rail services will soon go green as Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) plans to purchase renewable energy to power 80% of its daily operations including running of trains. CMRL floated a tender recently to look for a consultant who can assist in procuring both solar and wind power as part of its efforts to operate an environment-friendly transit system. 

"We will be purchasing solar and wind power from... Read more..

PM Modi says solar farming scheme to help increase farmers’ income

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his government has opened multiple avenues for raising farmers’ income and solar farming is one of them. 

“We have rolled out the solar farming scheme. Farmers can now earn money from farming and at the same time earn by selling the extra solar power generated at their farms,” Modi said in his independence day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort here.... Read more..

Pollution Board to set up three more air quality stations in Vijayawada

With air pollution levels increasing alarmingly in the city, the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) officials have decided to establish three more air quality monitoring stations at NTR College of Veterinary Science, Gannavaram, VR Siddhartha Engineering College, Kanuru and Andhra Loyola Institute of Engineering and Technology (ALIET).

As per the National Ambient Air Quality standards, respirable... Read more..