Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Senvion India set to be taken over by Saudi’s Alfanar

Wind turbine manufacturer, Senvion India, is all set to be taken over by the Saudi Arabian conglomerate, Alfanar. Senvion India Pvt Ltd is part of the German company Senvion GmbH, formerly known as RE Power. It was briefly owned by the Indian wind turbine company, Suzlon between 2007 and 2015. Senvion GmbH had turned insolvent in April last year and its global assets was later taken over by Siemens Gamesa, another wind turbine major. The Indian arm of Senvion was left out—Siemens Gamesa has large operations in India and therefore didn’t need Senvion in the country—and became an independent... Read more..

India's annual EV sales to cross 2 million mark by 2040: BloombergNEF

The sales of electric vehicle units in India will cross two million mark by 2040 on the back of falling prices of lithium ion batteries over the next decade, according to BloombergNEF. "The cost improvements will help drive annual EV sales to above two million units by 2040, from about 3,500 units in 2019," BNEF said in its latest release, adding that falling lithium-ion battery prices over the next decade will make electric passenger vehicles competitive with internal combustion engine vehicle segments in India. However, it highlighted that the subsidies available currently for passenger... Read more..

ONGC and NTPC to Form JV for Renewable Energy Business

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and India’s largest power generation utility NTPC ltd are planning to set up a Joint Venture (JV) company for the renewable energy business. According to an ONGC statement, the two Maharatna’s entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 21, 2020, in Delhi to formalise this arrangement. The MoU will enable both companies to achieve their targets in the renewable energy business. The MOU was signed by ONGC Director (Finance) and In-charge Business Development and Joint Ventures Subhash Kumar and Director (Commercial) NTPC A K... Read more..

LG Chem halts lithium-ion battery project in India: Report

LG Chem has halted plans for its lithium-ion battery project in India as the auto sector reels under the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The company was in talks with Renault, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hyundai for an Indian consortium for the project and regarding equity participation for the same, sources told The Economic Times. LG Chem stated the project was announced in 2018. Batteries from the project were to be supplied for electric vehicles of Hyundai, M&M, Renault and M&M’s South Korean subsidiary Ssangyong. Stating that India is still at the “beginning stage of exploring... Read more..

India’s solar PV installations to fall by 23 per cent in 2020: IEA

India’s solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment is set to decrease by 23 per cent in 2020 as compared to 2019, with the largest drop anticipated in distributed PV installations, according to a latest report by the International Energy Agency. It, however, added that a rebound was expected in 2021 with capacity additions exceeding 2019 levels. “Challenges concerning the financial health of state-owned companies responsible for the distribution and sale of electricity (DISCOMs) persist, hampering faster growth of renewables. The Covid-19 crisis has put additional pressure on DISCOMs and therefore... Read more..

Concerns over Oil India’s bid to drill for hydrocarbons in Assam national park

Concerns have been raised about Oil India Limited’s (OIL) bid to drill for hydrocarbons in a national park in Assam after a similar ecological threat was perceived because of the central government’s recent approval for coal mining activities inside an elephant reserve in Upper Assam. On May 11, the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) gave green clearance for the extension drilling and testing of hydrocarbons at seven locations by OIL under Dibru-Saikhowa National Park area in Assam’s Tinsukia district. The MoEFCC clearance comes close on the heels of the... Read more..

India steps on the gas for coal mining

As part of India’ strategy to revive economic activity, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved a new auction process for awarding coal and lignite blocks on revenue sharing basis.

Earlier, blocks were awarded on a fixed payment per tonne basis which the government believed was impeding production.

The new strategy was articulated by India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday while announcing that India will further open up commercial coal mining with revenue share arrangement to boost domestic production.

The announcement... Read more..

COVID-19 is alarm bell for climate change, more outbreaks may follow: science historian

COVID-19 could well be nature’s warning against climate change because microbes are the first to ring an alarm and this could just be the first wave of the pandemic with bigger outbreaks likely to follow, according to science historian Rohit Gupta.

“Nobody in India seems to be concerned that a much larger problem is at hand: climate change. Isn’t it odd that the only thing helping us reduce carbon emissions globally — at the time we need that the most — is the coronavirus? What if this crisis is nature’s blessing in disguise?” Mr. Gupta, who graduated from IIT Kharagpur in chemical... Read more..

Climate change supercharging extreme events, scientists say, as 'super cyclone' Amphan hits Bangladesh and India

As a powerful “super cyclone” tore into the coastline of the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday (May 20), leading experts warned of the impacts climate change was having on supercharging extreme weather events.

Cyclone Amphan brought with it severe winds, very heavy rainfall and the risk of damaging storm surges as it made landfall over India’s West Bengal and Bangladesh, a region with a dense and highly vulnerable population.

It was only the second “super cyclone” to have been recorded in the north-eastern Indian ocean and the most powerful since the 1999 Odisha storm.

More... Read more..

Rare drop in carbon emissions a potential catalyst for India's renewable energy ambitions

India has recorded its first year-on-year drop in carbon emissions at the national level for nearly 40 years, an outcome that analysts say will strengthen the government’s push to phase out dirty fossil fuels. In a country increasingly accustomed to heavily polluted air, the global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in rare blue skies, showcasing the possible future benefits of greater action on climate change. With heavy industries shuttered, the transport sector barely operational and demand for electricity plummeting, the country’s CO2 emissions fell by an estimated 15 per cent during the... Read more..

Brookfield in talks to acquire Piramal Enterprises’ $300 mn renewable loans

Piramal Enterprises is in talks to sell $300 million (Rs 2,200 crore) of loans advanced to three renewable energy companies to Brookfield Asset Management, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told ET.

Canada-based Brookfield plans to build a credit portfolio in India and consolidate its investments in renewable power sector, one person said.

Piramal Capital & Housing Finance, a unit of Piramal Enterprises and part of the Ajay Piramal Group, had lent about $300 million to ReNew Power, Atria Power and Acme Solar in 2016 and 2017.

At that time, the Piramal... Read more..

How COVID-19 might impact India's renewable energy transition

First, India’s renewable energy ambitions are among the most aggressive in the world. In 2014, India announced a short-term target of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022, which wouldn’t require major grid upgrades or storage. Coal – which accounts for half of India’s energy – is being replaced by renewable energy, at least for most new electricity. Longer term, India is moving towards electrifying mobility with electric vehicles (EVs).

Second, while the electrical grid can balance supply and demand, India’s financial balance was always precarious. Social welfare redistribution has... Read more..