Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Eleven railway stations to sport rooftop solar plants

As part of the Southern Railway’s initiative to go green and save on electricity costs by producing 4 MW of solar power, rooftop solar plants will be installed at 11 stations in Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram railway divisions.

“As far as the Railways is concerned, it is a win-win situation,” said G Suryanarayana, divisional electrical engineer (general services) Palakkad division. “Currently, the Railways... Read more..

International Solar Alliance (ISA) signs $5 billion finance deal

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) has signed letters of intent for $5 billion worth of financing and the initiation of development of nine solar projects across five countries.

The ISA signed the financing commitment by Yes Bank, India's fifth largest private sector bank and leader in renewable energy financing, on Wednesday on the fourth day of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

... Read more..

70 per cent safeguard duty on solar will put Rs 12,000 crore projects at risk: CRISIL

Levying 70 per cent provisional safeguard duty on imported solar panels and modules from China and Malaysia, as recommended by the Directorate General of Safeguards, will put solar power projects of around 3,000 Megawatt capacity worth over Rs 12,000 crore at risk, research and ratings agency CRISIL said. 

India auctioned around 4,000 Mw of solar projects last year (2017) which are currently under... Read more..

Ashok Leyland signs LoI with Phinergy to meet energy requirements of EV commercial vehicles

Flagship of the Hinduja Group, Ashok Leyland, on Wednesday took the next step to secure long-term arrangements for its EV commercial vehicles by signing a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Phinergy of Israel.

With the intention of providing varying energy management solutions to the customers, Ashok Leyland and Phinergy will work towards the adaptation of unique, competitive, and sustainable solutions for high-... Read more..

Government seeks tech solutions for waste management

The government is seeking technological solutions for managing the huge untreated waste across the country which is not only leading to poor sanitary conditions but also damaging the environment.

Around 62 million tonnes (mt) of solid waste is generated in India every year but only 43 mt is collected and a mere 12 mt treated. Similarly, about 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated everyday but of that,... Read more..

Karnataka Electricity Regulator seeks cut in base tariff for solar auction

With solar energy prices progressively falling, Karnataka's power regulator has directed the state's renewable energy development agency to substantially lower the benchmark tariff for its forthcoming solar auction from what it had earlier agreed to.

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) had earlier accepted a base price of Rs 4.36 per unit for an 860 MW solar auction the KarnatakaRenewable... Read more..

Arvind Kejriwal hopes Delhi, Fukuoka pact will help combat pollution

The Delhi government and the Fukuoka Prefectural Government (FPG) signed a Friendship Agreement Tuesday, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal noting that it will allow the capital to “harness” potential in core areas, especially “environment and air pollution”, a “major issue of concern”.

The agreement — wherein the core areas are environment, air pollution, culture, tourism and heritage, education and youth... Read more..

Indian clean energy investments dropped 20 per cent to $11 billion in 2017: BNEF

Global clean energy investments rose a marginal 3 per cent to $333.5 billion in 2017, led by China where investment in all clean energy technologies increased to $132.6 billion, up 24 per cent from 2016. However, clean energy investments in India dropped 20 per cent to $11 billion last year, according to BNEF.

"After China, the next biggest investing country was the U.S., at $56.9 billion, up 1 per cent on... Read more..

Domestic solar panels to get only EPC, subsidy-backed projects

As India faces heat at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for giving preference to domestic solar manufacturers in its renewable energy programme, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has made changes to the content sourcing policy. This comes at a time when the domestic solar manufacturing industry has sought safeguards and anti-dumping duty on import of solar panels from China and Malaysia.

In... Read more..

Over 13,000 houses in West UP get electricity connections in a day

As many as 13,254 houses were given electricity connections in Western Uttar Pradesh in a single day on Saturday under 'Saubhagya' scheme, senior government officials said. The districts where the connections were given include Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Hapur, Gautam Budh Nagar, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Moradabad, Sambhal, Amroha, Rampur and Bijnor.

Out of the total houses, 2,372... Read more..

J&K govt provides 91,000 solar lights to households in un-electrified villages

The Jammu and Kashmir government today said 91,000 solar home lights have been provided to households in un-electrified villages in the state. 

Minister for Social Welfare, ARI & Trainings and Science & Technology Sajad Gani Lone said the home lighting devices were provided under the Remote Village Electrification Programme. 

... Read more..

India is said to mull power law change to boost EV stations

India's power ministry is considering ending the lock on electricity sales by distributors as one way to speed up growth in vehicle charging stations, according to a ministry official with knowledge of the plan. 

The approach would require amending the nation's Electricity Act, which only allows distributors to sell power, including for electric-vehicle charging stations, according to the official, who asked... Read more..