Sustainability Outlook Headlines

PM calls on BRICS to work closely with international solar alliance

Asserting that affordable and sustainable access to energy is crucial for the growth of the BRICS nations, Prime Minister Narendra today called on the member countries to work closely with the International Solar Alliance to strengthen the solar energy agenda.

In his intervention at the plenary session of the 9th BRICS Summit in Xiamen, Modi noted that climate resilient development calls upon the nations to utilise all available resource streams.

"Renewable energy is particularly important on multiple counts. BRICS countries can work closely with International Solar Alliance... Read more..

Gadkari to set up task force for speedy implementation of Ganga cleaning projects

Union transport, highways and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari, who assumed additional charge of water resources ministry on Monday, announced that he would soon set up a task force for "speedy" implementation of all ongoing programmes including the Ganga rejuvenation projects. 

The inter-ministerial task force, comprising of representatives from ministries like drinking water and sanitation, rural development & panchayati raj and urban development, would specify a definite timeline by which these projects would be completed. 

After taking charge of the ministry, Gadkari... Read more..

Auto companies like Hyundai, Tata Motors, advance plans to make electric cars in India

Signalling a major change in stance, carmakers are advancing plans to make electric cars in India by giving them preference over hybrid versions. Automakers such as Hyundai, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are leading the race to roll out electric cars soon.

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest carmaker, is considering the assembly of electric vehicles in India as early as 2019 and has dropped hybrid car plans for the market.

Tata Motors is readying an electric version of its Tiago, which is expected to be showcased in the upcoming Auto Expo. That’s not all. Its... Read more..

Ghazipur landfill collapse: NGT issues notices to civic body, state and DDA

Days after a huge portion of the 50-metre-high Ghazipur landfill collapsed, killing two persons, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday issued showcause notices to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

Stating that there could be nothing more humiliating than people being killed under a"garbage hill", the green tribunal asked the agencies to explain why punitive action should not be not taken against them. It also asked all the municipal corporations to submit an action plan, citing... Read more..

Fulfil climate vows: Harsh Vardhan to rich nations

India on Thursday reminded rich nations of their pre-2020 climate goals with business leaders and ministers from different countries assembling here to discuss how private businesses can work together with governments to achieve the goal under Paris Agreement beyond 2020. 

India's consistent stand on the issue was articulated by environment minister Harsh Vardhan who said though India was fully committed to its climate actions under the Paris deal, it was "critical and necessary that equal focus is given to pre-2020 actions by developed countries" under Kyoto Protocol. 

... Read more..

Rooftop solar energy firm Amplus Energy Solutions in talks to raise up to $100 million

Rooftop solar energy company Amplus Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd is in talks to raise as much as $100 million, said two people aware of the development.

“The company has been in talks with investors, both financial and strategic to raise around $50-100 million, which will help the company grow beyond its current portfolio of under 100 megawatts (MW) of distributed generation assets,” one of the two people cited above said on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to talk to reporters.

Amplus was infrastructure fund I Squared Capital’s first bet in India. The fund... Read more..

Solar power generation plant under trial at Kolkata airport

A Rs 88-crore solar power generation plant that is under trial at Kolkata airport is set to propel it ahead of its peers in the country . Once it connects to the CESC grid, it will be the largest source of alternative energy in Kolkata.

Speaking to TOI, Kolkata airport director Atul Dikshit said the solar-harvesting facility was undergoing tests before pushing power into the CESC grid. Altogether, 45,454 solar panels, each of 330W capacity, have been installed across 65 acres to the east of the primary runway . The plant has a peak generation capacity of 15MW solar power. It is... Read more..

Scientists develop new device can turn heat energy to fuel

Scientists have developed a device that could turn the heat generated by electronics into a usable fuel source, an advance that may help save energy.

The device is a multicomponent, multi layered composite material called a van der Waals Schottky diode, said researchers at Washington State University (WSU) in the US.

It converts heat into electricity up to three times more efficiently than silicon - a semiconductor material widely used in the electronics industry, they said.

"The ability of our diode to convert heat into electricity is very large compared to other bulk... Read more..

India ready to fully finance carbon capture technology: Piyush Goyal

Minister of State (MoS) for Power and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal on Thursday said India is ready to fully finance carbon capture technology.

Addressing a plenary session on 'Milestones to 2020, and Beyond under the Paris Agreement' at the '3rd Business and Climate Summit 2017', Goyal said, "People's participation, holistic approach to sustainable lifestyle, better allocation of resources and engagement amongst nations are imperative for climate change reduction. India is willingly and voluntarily working towards reducing carbon footprints in the country."

He added that the... Read more..

Hydro generation grew 2.14 per cent in July as reservoir storage levels dip to 51 per cent

India’s hydro power generation grew 2.14 per cent to 15.41 Billion Units (BU) in the month of July as compared to 15.08 BUs in the corresponding month last year, fresh data from Central Electricity Authority (CEA) shows. Hydro generation saw a growth of only 1.73 per cent in July 2016 as compared with the growth of 8.2 per cent in July 2015.

According to Central Water Commission (CWC) data, the current live storage of the country’s 91 reservoirs for the week ended 24 August stood at 79.925 billion cubic metre (BCM), 51 per cent of the total storage capacity. This compares with last... Read more..

ABB India wins order to install solar inverters at 750 railway stations

ABB India, the local arm of the Swedish-Swiss engineering giant ABB, today announced it will provide solar inverters to 750 railway stations in north India to reduce dependence on traditional sources of energy. The stations are located in the busy northern Indian part of the network, one of the most used railway corridors in the world. 

"ABB solar inverters for this project vary between 5kW to 50kW in performance depending on the size of the station. They will be part of the solar installations being set up by Azure Power," the company said in a statement.

Indian Railways... Read more..

India bars states from independently exiting, modifying solar projects

India has barred state authorities from unilaterally cancelling or modifying solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) after six state governments in last two months pushed developers to lower tariffs, threatening to derail projects worth $7.5 billion.

Narendra Modi's government aims to raise solar power generation capacity nearly 30 times to 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2022. The capacity has already more than tripled in three years to more than 12 GW.

The government said it will impose a minimum penalty of 50 percent of the tariff if the purchase agreement is arbitrarily scrapped by... Read more..