Sustainability Outlook Headlines

UK Confirmed as 1st Co-Chair in India-Led Climate Change Initiative

The UK on March 23, 2020, was confirmed as the first co-chair of the Governing Council on the India-led global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). The coalition was established by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is a voluntary international grouping, linking governments, UN agencies, banks, private sector groups, and academia to develop the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks. The Governing Council is the highest policy-making body of the CDRI, co-chaired by India and a representative of another national government nominated by rotation... Read more..

Electric cars help limit climate change despite blackspots in India, Poland

Plug-in vehicles emit less greenhouse gases than petrol and diesel models over a car’s lifetime – that includes the mining of metals or lithium for batteries, manufacturing, driving 150,000 kilometers and finally scrapping, a study published in the journal Nature Sustainability on Monday found. Some past studies have questioned the greenness of electric vehicles (EVs), especially because of high emissions linked to making batteries. “In most of the world, in countries accounting for 95% of road transport, EVs would reduce emissions compared to average petrol cars,” lead author Florian... Read more..

India’s plans to tackle impact of climate change on agriculture

Global warming associated with the increase in concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is one of the reasons for the increase in extreme weather events. Due to global warming, agriculture sector is likely to be affected and climate change is expected to impact yields of agriculture crops. Simulation studies using integrated modelling framework showed that rainfed rice yields in India are projected to reduce marginally (<2.5 percent) in 2050 and 2080 scenarios while irrigated rice yields are projected to reduce by 7 percent in 2050 and 10 percent in 2080 scenarios. Climate... Read more..

BS6 Petrol, Diesel Will Be Available Across 28,000 Indian Oil Fuel Stations In The Country

Right before the BS6 emission norms are set to be implemented across the country, Indian Oil has readied its fuel stations with BS6 fuel. The company has confirmed the same for 28,000 of its fuel stations across the country. The confirmation comes as a message on Twitter shared by Indian Oil Chairman Sanjiv Singh recently. As per the message, Singh affirms that Indian Oil is now totally BS6-complaint in automotive fuels. This extends from the company’s refineries right down to the pump nozzles at all its fuel stations across India. "With this, we have fulfilled our commitment of ushering... Read more..

Telangana to get 118 EV charging stations

The Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) Government of India has allocated 118 Electric Vehicle (EV) Public Charging Stations for Hyderabad and ten each for Warangal and Karimnagar districts under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric vehicles (FAME) scheme phase 2. The charging stations in the State will be installed by Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd (REIL), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).

The TSREDCO (Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation Ltd) which is the State nodal agency has signed... Read more..

Gujarat floats tender for 700 MW solar power capacity in Dholera Park

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL), the holding company of all the power utilities in the states, has floated a tender for 700 Megawatt (MW) capacity solar power projects to be set up in Dholera solar park. "In order to fulfill the renewable power purchase obligation and to meet the future requirements of discoms, GUVNL intends to procure 700 MW solar power from the projects to be located in 1000 MW Dholera Solar Park through competitive bidding process on build-own-operate basis," the company said in a Request for Selection (RfS) document. The selected companies will set up solar power... Read more..

Solar power equipment manufacturers need interest subvention: Industry body

Domestic solar power equipment manufacturers need interest subvention to stay competitive in the market and enjoy level playing field against foreign firms, according to National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI). "Interest subvention will encourage the industry and will greatly help in making domestic manufacturing competitive. The scheme will go a long way and help create a level playing field for Indian manufacturers to compete with foreign manufacturers," NSEFI Chairman P R Mehta said. There are total 73 companies which are part of NSEFI as; trustee, patron, associate and... Read more..

Investments in RE Sector Fell 14% to Rs 68550 Cr in 2019

Investments in the country’s renewable energy sector fell by 14 percent to Rs 68,550 crore in the calendar year 2019, the Parliament has been informed. In 2018, the estimated investment in the domestic RE sector was at Rs 79,606 crore, Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy R K Singh informed the Lok Sabha. An estimated Rs 68,550 crore investment was made in the renewable energy sector in 2019, he said citing private data. While the investment in 2015 was at Rs 72,972 crore, it zoomed to Rs 1,00,982 crore in 2016, the data showed. The investment dropped to Rs 81,080 crore in 2017 and... Read more..

IIT Bombay group suggests method of detecting early-stage discoloration in EVA encapsulants

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, funded by a Ministry of New and Renewable Energy grant, have proposed a new, non-destructive method of detecting early-stage photobleaching and discoloration in EVA encapsulants. Identifying early-stage discoloration in the ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer encapsulants used for crystalline solar module lamination can detect panel degradation before power output is affected. Discoloration reduces direct short circuit current, making it a prime source of reduced panel performance, alongside premature delamination. The... Read more..

GNIDA plans to earn Rs 1.2 crore from treated wastewater

Opening up another revenue stream, the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) is eyeing at a yearly revenue of Rs 1.25 crore through trade of treated water. From the next financial year, the authority plans to sell recycled waste water to industries at the rate of Rs 7 for every 1,000 litres. The decision was taken at a meeting held on Monday after it was found that sewage treatment plants under the authority have been producing 50 million surplus water on a daily basis. Treated water has been used traditionally for horticulture purposes and construction activities. Due to... Read more..

Maharashtra: Metro installing solar panels atop stations at fast pace

MahaMetro, which aims to meet 65 per cent of its energy requirement from solar, is installing panels atop its stations at a fast pace. Its aim is to install total 14MW and so far 1MW has been installed and work is going on another 1.5MW. A Metro spokesperson said that solar energy was a win-win situation for the agency. “A private operator installs the panels through Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a central government undertaking. We don’t spend a penny on it. We just provide the space in our stations. The operator sells power to us when the panels are installed. We get... Read more..

Tata Motors Lucknow Plant to Meet 100% Energy Demand From RE by 2030

Staying true to its core philosophy of adopting sustainable practices, Tata Motors has announced that its Lucknow plant has minimised the use of energy in its functions and processes with its constructive and consistent efforts and is on track to attaining 100 percent renewable energy sourcing for all its operations by 2030. The company’s Lucknow plant has adopted an Energy Management System (EMS), which has ensured a substantial reduction of 38 percent in specific energy consumption over the last four years, i.e. from 406 kWh / equivalent vehicle in FY2015-16 to 250 kWh / equivalent... Read more..