Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Take back draft Electricity Amendment Bill, engineers' body urges PM

An Uttar Pradesh power engineers' association has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take back the draft Electricity Amendment Bill, terming it anti-consumer. UP Rajya Vidyut Parishad Abhiyanta Sangh chief V P Singh told reporters that the proposed legislation has been opposed by several states as it is anti-consumer, especially against farmers and the industry.

Singh said the All-India Power Engineers' Federation (AIPEF) has urged the prime minister to put the legislation on hold till a conducive environment exists for discussion on it in Parliament.

He said the Bill must... Read more..

Theni district bags Skoch Gold award

Theni district has bagged the Skoch Gold Award, a national award for water management and water conservation practices, by beating 130 other districts countrywide. District collector Pallavi M Baldev said a lot of efforts went into conserving water bodies and natural resources in the district. Theni is one of the few districts in the state which has two rivers flowing through it and many dams in its limits. Survey of waterbodies and eviction of encroachments on them were among the various interventions done. Various government water bodies schemes, especially Kudimaramathu, were... Read more..

Power discom TPDDL prevents over 1.5 lakh manual visits for meter reading during lockdown

Power discom TPDDL prevented over 1.5 lakh manual meter-reading visits of its staff during the lockdown, safeguarding them and the consumers from possible coronavirus exposure, through around two lakh smart meters installed within its distribution area, a company spokesperson said on Sunday. The smart meters helped raise over 3.5 lakh electricity bills based on actual readings, instead of provisional ones, during the lockdown months of April-May and prevented over 1.5 lakh visits to consumer premises, he said.

The company has installed around two lakh smart meters across its... Read more..

UK retail platform Farfetch unveils fashion footprint tool

London-based online luxury fashion retail platform Farfetch recently launched an online tool that helps consumers understand how to track the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions and see the environmental savings of buying new versus pre-owned clothes. The aim is to help empower its shoppers to ‘think, act and choose positively’ and to ensure that sustainability remains front-and-centre for consumers.

The fashion footprint tool coincided with the launch of new research that looked at the growth of the pre-owned market in the United Kingdom, the United States and China... Read more..

MNRE forms project development cell to attract investment in green energy

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set up a Project Development Cell (PDC) to attract more investments into the sector that will help meet its 175 GW target for green energy.

Industry experts said the new body might have been created in the wake of tensions with China, which supplies the bulk of the solar energy equipment used in Indian projects.

The cell’s main purpose is to create projects that have all prior approvals for investors to adopt them. The approvals include detailed reports and readily available land for allocation for these projects. The PDC... Read more..

Icra report highlights regulatory risks to renewable energy developers

Renewable energy developers having a significant exposure to third-party power purchase agreements remain exposed to regulatory risks as open access charges in such pacts are likely to increase to mitigate the cash flow issues of discoms in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, says Icra. Third party PPA refers to an arrangement where a renewable energy developer owns, operates, and maintains the project and a captive user agrees to purchase the electricity from the project for a predetermined period for a tariff which is lower than grid tariffs.

"Renewable energy developers, based on... Read more..

Uttar Pradesh to get 600-MW ultra-mega renewable energy park

The Uttar Pradesh government has approved the setting up of an ultra mega renewable energy park with an investment of Rs 2,400 crore in the state.

The joint project will be set up by the Uttar Pradesh Non-Conventional Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) and Tehri Hydro Development Corporation of India (THDC).

The state cabinet has approved the draft memorandum of understanding, the memorandum of association and articles of association for the JV.

The authorised share capital of the joint venture will be Rs 50 crore, of which UPNEDA will have 26% equity and THDCIL’s... Read more..

U.K. textile- and fashion-related SMEs awarded $1.5 million to pursue projects

Ten U.K. companies, several with ties to the textiles industry, have received more than $1.5 million in support of their efforts to produce innovative, sustainable products.

The funds were given by the Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology (BFTT), which is led by the University of Arts London in partnership with some of the country’s leading universities as part of the AHRC Creative Industries Clusters Program, funded by the U.K. Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Of more than 80 applicants, 13 were short-listed and provided one-on-one mentoring, business workshops... Read more..

European Parliament issues sustainable investment rules

The European Parliament has adopted new criteria on sustainable investments to help the EU achieve its climate-neutral goals.

The legislation comprises six environmental objectives to boost green investments.

These include climate change mitigation (avoiding/reducing greenhouse gas emissions or increasing greenhouse gas removal), as well as climate change adaptation (reducing or preventing adverse impact on current or expected future climate, or the risks of such adverse impact).
The others are sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to... Read more..

Transmission charges waiver to renewables may be extended beyond 2022

The power ministry may consider at least a six-month extension beyond December 2022 for transmission charges waiver to solar and wind projects. “The Ministry may consider extending the ISTS waiver for renewable energy projects by at least six months,” said the power minister R.K. Singh speaking at an interactive session organized by FICCI. Originally open until the end of March 2022, the waiver was extended by nine months in November last year so that all solar and wind projects commissioned during that year will secure a 25-year exemption for the grid charges. The waiver is only granted... Read more..

Infosys Joins Amazon-Backed Climate Pledge. "Big Thanks," Says Jeff Bezos

Infosys has joined The Climate Pledge and committed to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced today. The Climate Pledge was co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019 and calls on signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040 - one decade ahead of the Paris Agreement goal of 2050. Infosys - an Indian multinational company that provides information technology (IT), business consulting and outsourcing services - is among three companies who have joined the Amazon-backed Climate Pledge, Mr Bezos announced. American... Read more..

Bridge To India lowers India's solar, wind power capacity addition outlook over 2020-2024

Clean energy consultancy Bridge To India has lowered India's solar and wind power capacity addition estimate over 2020-2024 citing weak economic outlook and further slowdown in power demand. It said the domestic energy sector has been hit by multiple demand and supply shocks, sharp reduction in power demand, delays in construction activity, and deferred payments across the value chain. "Consequent to weakening economic outlook and further slowdown in power demand, we have revised our base case solar and wind power capacity addition estimate over 2020-2024 to 35 GW and 12 GW, down from our... Read more..