Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Central Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institute, Budni (MP) tests the first-ever electric Tractor in the Institute

Central Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institute, Budni (MP) has tested the first-ever electric Tractor in the Institute. The institute received the application for an electric tractor under Confidential Test initially. Accordingly, the institute has tested the tractor & released the Draft Test Report in February, 2021. After the release of the draft test report, the manufacturer has requested for conversion of the nature of the test from “Confidential to Commercial” and the competent authority has accepted the request of the manufacturer. Accordingly, the Test Report was... Read more..

US-based EverGreen Power to assess feasibility of 300MW wind-solar-storage project in Gujarat

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is funding the 300MW wind-solar-storage project as part of its mission to promote sustainable infrastructure projects in partner countries like India.

US-based EverGreen Power has been contracted to carry out the feasibility study for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) funded 300MW wind-solar hybrid power project with battery storage in Dwarka, Gujarat. The grant has been awarded to India’s Shivman Wind Energy, which chose EverGreen Power as the contract partner.

EverGreen, with its headquarters in Chicago (USA) and... Read more..

U.S. solar industry unveils guidelines to free supply chain of forced labor

The top U.S. solar industry trade group on Thursday issued a set of voluntary guidelines to solar panel manufacturers that it said could help rid products installed in the United States of components built abroad with forced labor.

Some U.S. lawmakers have voiced gorwing concern that the industry is dependent upon products, specifically the raw material polysilicon, linked to work camps in China’s Xinjiang region. The U.S. State Department has made a determination that Chinese officials are perpetrating genocide there, and imports of cotton and tomato products from the region were... Read more..

Niti Aayog Suggests Govt To Provide Incentives On EV Purchase Apart From Subsidy Under FAME-II

Government think-tank Niti Aayog has said the government should provide incentives on electric vehicle (EV) purchase over and above the existing subsidy under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and EV (FAME-II) scheme.

The Niti Aayog in its status quo analysis of electric mobility in India also said the government should include EVs and associated businesses in the priority sector lending category.

'The government should give EV purchase subsidy over and above FAME-II subsidy along with interest subvention on loan amount taken for EV purchase,' the Aayog said.... Read more..

COVID-19 Second wave could delay 4 GW of solar, wind projects under 3-4 months extension

The recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the country has pushed several states under curfews and lockdowns, which is expected to result in project commissioning delays for solar projects, according to industry analysts.

According to Jyoti Gulia, founder, JMK Research, if the government grants solar developers another three to four month extension, an estimated 4 gigawatt (GW) of solar and wind projects with planned commissioning in 2021 will be delayed and will be expected to get commissioned in 2022.

“There will again be a delay in the project commissioning schedule for... Read more..

CDC Group announces ₹250 CR investment into Fourth Partner Energy

CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, today announced a ₹250 Cr investment into Fourth Partner Energy, India’s leading solar energy company for commercial and industrial businesses. Fourth Partner Energy will deploy this mezzanine capital towards growing its renewable solutions platform across India and South Asia.

CDC’s investment will support India’s clean energy transition and enable provision of cleaner energy to businesses. It will fund approximately 217 megawatts (MW) greenfield renewable power generation in India, to displace primarily... Read more..

NTPC tenders 600 MW of wind-solar hybrid projects across India

State-run power producer NTPC has invited bids to develop an aggregate 600 MW of ISTS connected wind-solar hybrid power project anywhere in India. The projects are intended to be developed by NTPC Limited through its wholly-owned Subsidiary NTPC Renewable Energy Limited.

The projects shall be a hybrid of wind and solar power resources where the rated power capacity of one resource (wind or solar) shall be at least 33% of the total offered hybrid project capacity. The offered project can be connected to a single injection point or separate injection points on ISTS network.

The... Read more..

ReNew Power inks $7.6-m pact for robotic solar cleaning

Renew Power, Airtouch Solar, water-free robotic cleaning systems , solar power plants in Rajasthan, Airtouch’s production plant in Israel,
Renew Power bags deal with Airtouch Solar

Renew Power has signed a $7.6 million contract with Israel-based Airtouch Solar for deploying water-free robotic cleaning systems at three of its upcoming solar power plants in Rajasthan. The robotic cleaning systems will be supplied from Airtouch’s production plant in Israel, and the company’s manufacturing plant in India that is currently being established, a statement by Airtouch said.

“... Read more..

EU taxonomy act embraces hydrogen, delays call on nuclear, gas

The EU's classification system, or taxonomy, for green investments is shaking Europe's financial sector this week, with debates continuing to rage on the inclusion of bioenergy and possible inclusion of nuclear and natural gas.

Marked by concessions to lobby groups after an earlier draft was launched last year, the latest draft Climate Delegated Act was published after the European Commission (EC) reached an "agreement in principle" on 21 April.

The taxonomy's technical screening criteria are set out in acts that define which investments in technologies across the energy,... Read more..

New fly ash utilisation rule for thermal power plants

NEW DELHI: Seeking to deal with environmentally hazardous fly ash generated from coal and lignite based thermal power plants (TPPs), the Centre has made it mandatory for such plants to ensure 100% utilisation of fly ash within three to five years. It also, for the first time, introduced fines on non-compliant plants under the ‘polluter pays principle’, taking into account utilisation targets from April 1 next year.

Under the draft plan, notified by the environment ministry last week, non-compliant TPPs will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 per tonne on unutilised ash which is to be... Read more..

White House backs 2030 milestone on path to net zero grid

The White House hopes to capitalize on growing support from U.S. utilities, unions and green groups for a national clean energy mandate by backing efforts to require the U.S. grid to get 80% of its power from emissions-free sources by 2030, according to a senior administration official.

A 2030 target would be a milestone on the way to achieving President Joe Biden’s stated ambition of net zero carbon emissions in the grid by 2035. It could also potentially be passed without Republican support through a process called budget reconciliation.

“Our goal is to enact this into law... Read more..

Renewable energy certificates trading shrinks to 9.2 lakh in 2020-21

The REC or green certificate trades were suspended in July 2020 after the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) decided to postpone the trading by four weeks while hearing three separate petitions related to an issue of fixing floor and forbearance prices of RECs by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).

The trading did not resume as a result of an interim order by APTEL in July. The matter is still before the APTEL. The suspension of REC trade has significantly affected the discoms' ability to meet their RPO.

Under RPO, bulk purchasers like discoms, open... Read more..