Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Kia, Hyundai collaborate with Next Hydrogen to develop alkaline water electrolysis system

Kia Corporation and Hyundai Motor Company have signed a memorandum of understanding with Next Hydrogen Corporation, a Canadian company specializing in water electrolysis technology and a subsidiary of Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc., bolstering their efforts to usher in a global hydrogen society through cost-effective production of clean hydrogen. Under the agreement, the companies will jointly develop an alkaline water electrolysis system[1] and its related stack for the purpose of generating green hydrogen economically and exploring new business opportunities and technological applications... Read more..

New solar thermal components testing facility at Hyderabad to give further fillip to India’s growing solar sector

A newly established Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) based test rig facility at Hyderabad can help the growing solar industry in India to test capability and performance of solar thermal components like solar receiver tubes, heat transfer fluids, concentrating mirrors.

The facility set up by the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), will validate solar thermal components such as solar receiver tubes, heat transfer fluids, concentrating mirrors, and AR coated... Read more..

Ingka Group, H&M, Kingfisher and Walmart join forces in retail alliance – on the pathway towards a 1.5°C future

Currently, only 5 percent of retail businesses (by total global industry revenues) have committed to taking action to limit global warming in accordance with the Paris Agreement.  To put it simply, retail is not yet doing its part, and it has a big opportunity to make a positive impact, particularly through:

influencing supply chains;
contributing to creating more sustainable cities;
making it more convenient and affordable to live with a lower climate footprint
The Race to Zero Breakthroughs: Retail Campaign encourages retailers to set science-based targets in... Read more..

Commission puts forward new strategy to make the EU's financial system more sustainable and proposes new European Green Bond Standard

The European Commission has today adopted a number of measures to increase its level of ambition on sustainable finance. First, the new Sustainable Finance Strategy sets out several initiatives to tackle climate change, and other environmental challenges, while increasing investment – and the inclusiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – in the EU's transition towards a sustainable economy. The European Green Bond Standard proposal, also adopted today, will create a high-quality voluntary standard for bonds financing sustainable investment. Finally, the Commission adopted... Read more..

AIPEF writes to PM, seeks 'detailed deliberations' of stakeholders on Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021

The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has written to the prime Minister seeking "detailed deliberations" with various stakeholders on the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, before rushing it to Parliament.

The federation in a letter to the prime minister has stressed that the proposed bill should not be rushed to Parliament during the pandemic period and there should be detailed discussions with power sector engineers and employees, an AIPEF statement said.

V K Gupta, an AIPEF spokesperson, said in the statement that the Ministry of Power circulated the... Read more..

Maharashtra sugar mills plan compressed bio-gas plants

Sugar mills in the State have potential to generate 1.5 lakh tonnes of CBG every year to earn ₹700 crore
Maharashtra sugar mills, which are facing a financial crisis due to glut in sugar production, less demand in the market, and a challenge to pay timely FRP (fair and remunerative price) to farmers, plan to establish compressed biogas (CBG) plants in an effort to find financial stability.

Sugar millers discussed CBG plants in a recent meeting organised by Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI), the premier research and development organisation in sugar and allied industry.

... Read more..

EU bets on energy savings, greener buildings to meet climate target -draft

The European Union will require countries to renovate energy-guzzling buildings faster and meet tougher targets to save energy as part of its drive to meet climate change goals, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

Buildings produce more than a third of EU CO2 emissions and account for 40% of the bloc's energy consumption, making the sector a key threat to Europe's plan to reduce planet-warming emissions.

A draft European Commission proposal, seen by Reuters, would require countries to put in place measures to cut their final energy consumption by 1.5% each year... Read more..

Gujarat Not to Allow Net Metering for Rooftop Solar Systems Over 10 kW

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has proposed amendments to the ‘Net Metering Rooftop Solar Grid-Interactive Systems Regulations, 2016’.

As per the proposed amendments, net metering will be permitted for loads up to 10 kW, and gross metering will be provided for loads above 10 kW. The installed capacity has to be in the range of 1 kW to 1 MW.

Recently, the Ministry of Power amended the Electricity (Rights of Consumers), 2020, Rules, permitting net metering to prosumers for loads up to 500 kW or up to the approved load, whichever is lower. The government... Read more..

Call to install rooftop solar plant to reduce power bills

An electricity consumer, who had installed a Roof Top Solar (RTS) plant atop his independent house at Vudanagar Phase-I at Kurmannapalem five years ago, has been saving around ₹2,500 a month on electricity bills during the peak summer months!

Missed out availing of the benefit of installing an RTS plant in phase-I? Here’s another golden opportunity. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has sanctioned 8 MW capacity to APEPDCL in the residential sector under phase-II of the Grid Connected RTS programme with timelines for completion of the allocated capacity within 15 months... Read more..

Andhra Pradesh announces subsidy for solar rooftop plants

Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APEPDCL) on Friday announced central financial assistance for residential customers interested in installing grid-connected rooftop solar (RTS) plants.

The facility was extended to Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and both Godavari districts’ residential consumers by installing grid-connected plants in their homes through EPDCL, the chief general manager, Energy Conservation, Energy Audit, Solar/APEPDCL V Vijaya Lalita said.

The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has sanctioned 8MW capacity in the... Read more..

Raj govt looks to make state leader in renewable energy: Gehlot

The Rajasthan government is looking to make the state a leader in the renewable energy sector, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Friday. To accelerate the projects related to the development of renewable energy, the state government has implemented the Rajasthan Solar Energy Policy-2019 and Solar-Wind Hybrid Energy Policy-2019, Gehlot said in a statement.

He said that the policies have encouraged investment in renewable energy and setting up of mega solar park projects in the state.

Gehlot was addressing online meeting of Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation. He said that... Read more..

New microbial enzyme breaks down lignin for less expensive biofuels, bioproducts

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have discovered a microbial enzyme that degrades tough-to-break bonds in lignin, a waste product of biorefineries. When inserted into a bioengineered bacterium, the enzyme helps efficiently convert lignin compounds into a common component of plastics—muconic acid—opening a pathway to transform waste into a commercially valuable biochemical.

A paper on the work is published in the journal Metabolic Engineering.

Researchers discovered the enzyme, named LsdE, in the bacterium Novosphingobium aromaticivorans, pictured, a microbe... Read more..