Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Andhra HC seeks details of discom dues to renewable energy companies

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh high court directed discoms to give details of the amount due to various solar and wind energy generation companies across the state. The division bench headed by chief justice Arup Kumar Goswami heard a petition filed by solar and wind energy generation companies challenging the orders given by the single bench of the high court permitting the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) to revise the unit charge of power purchases.

Senior counsel P Raghu Sriram, Basava Prabhu Patil and Sanjan Poovayya appeared for the power generation companies and... Read more..

UK government announces landmark deal in green energy transition

The government of the UK has announced a landmark climate transition agreement for Britain's North Sea offshore oil and gas industry. The newly-released "North Sea Transition Deal" is a promise to support the offshore work force and supply chain during the switch to renewable energy and a net-zero emissions economy.

"We will not leave oil and gas workers behind in the United Kingdom’s irreversible shift away from fossil fuels," said Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng in a statement. "At every step on the path to net zero emissions, we will create the right conditions for... Read more..

SABIC FORMS COLLABORATION TO REALIZE THE WORLD’S FIRST ELECTRICALLY HEATED STEAM CRACKER FURNACE

SABIC has signed a joint agreement with BASF and Linde to develop and demonstrate solutions for electrically heated steam cracker furnaces.

The partners have already jointly worked on concepts to use renewable electricity instead of the fossil fuel gas typically used for the heating process. With this innovative approach focusing on one of the petrochemical industries’ core processes, the parties strive to offer a promising solution to significantly contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions within the chemical industry.

Steam crackers play a central role in the... Read more..

Discoms get ₹46,321 crore under liquidity infusion scheme so far: Govt

NEW DELHI : The government on Tuesday informed the Parliament that the power ministry has disbursed ₹46,321 crore so far to power distribution utilities or discoms in the country under liquidity infusion scheme.

Power Minister R. K Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha that "So far, loans of ₹1,35,497 crore have been sanctioned and ₹46,321 crore have been released to states/DISCOMs by REC and PFC (Power Finance Corporation)."

The Modi government had announced a liquidity infusion scheme of ₹1.35 lakh crore as part of AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan on May 13, 2020, in... Read more..

Govt Plans Additional Incentives For EV Makers In Proposed PLI Scheme For Auto Sector To Boost Local Production: Report

In a major push for attracting big investments towards domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles in India, the government is said to planning to offer a fresh set of incentives to companies as a part of its broader scheme for the auto sector, reports Economic Times.

The final details of the production linked incentives (PLI) scheme are expected within a month. With the details of the scheme being worked out, the government is reportedly expecting to attract as much as $14 billion of investments over a period of five years after implementation of the scheme.

Under the scheme... Read more..

China to inspect renewable power consumption to improve offtake

BEIJING, March 23 (Reuters) - China’s energy administration, as part of a drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will inspect renewable power consumption across the country, with the goal of reducing power wastage from non-fossil fuel sources.

China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, has pledged to bring emissions to a peak by 2030 and propel solar and wind power generating capacity to 1,200 gigawatts (GW) from 535 GW in 2020.

“Clean energy utilisation has seen obvious improvement in recent years. But in some regions, clean energy consumption policy is not... Read more..

Customs duty change: First auction fetches solar bid tariff of Rs 2.20 per unit

New Delhi: The first solar auction after the announcement of the basic customs duty on solar imports fetched a tariff of Rs. 2.20, much to the surprise of the renewable energy industry.

Currently, the lowest tariff discovered in the country is Rs. 1.99 per unit, which was also held by the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL). Most industry players and agencies such as ICRA had anticipated a rise of around 25% from that benchmark, which would result in a hike of at least 45 to 50 paise per unit.

A couple of weeks ago, the Centre announced the imposition of a basic customs... Read more..

BHEL secures first ever overseas turnkey contract for grid-connected Solar PV Power Plant

New Delhi, March 22: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has achieved yet
another milestone in international business by securing its maiden overseas turnkey
contract for a grid-connected 8 MWac Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power plant.

The solar farm will be set up by BHEL at Tamarind Falls, Henrietta (Phase II), Mauritius
on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis. The contract for the same
has been awarded to BHEL by CEB (Green Energy) Co. Ltd, Mauritius, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Central Electricity Board (CEB), Govt. of Mauritius.... Read more..

Fashion For Good Consortium pilots resource efficient cotton farming - collaboration with leading brands Kering and PVH Corp., and leading global textile manufacturer Arvind Limited

Fashion for Good launches a new, two-year pilot project in collaboration with leading brands Kering and PVH Corp., and leading global textile manufacturer Arvind Limited to pilot a radically resource-effi cient cotton farming technology provided by Fashion for Good innovator, Materra (formerly hydroCotton).

Materra’s innovative combination of precision agriculture, environmental control and real-time data tracking facilitate resilience for cotton farming in developing regions where climate and resources prove challenging for cotton cultivation.

“38% of the fashion industry’s... Read more..

Climate Action 100+ issues its first-ever net zero company benchmark of the world’s largest corporate emitters

Detailed assessments show companies are increasingly making ambitious climate commitments, but now need to deliver

Benchmark sets clear engagement priorities for $54 trillion investor-led initiative to drive faster corporate climate action

Climate Action 100+, the world’s largest investor engagement initiative on climate change, has released its first-ever benchmark evaluating the corporate ambition and action of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters and other companies with significant opportunity to drive the net zero transition. The Climate Action 100+ Net-Zero... Read more..

Power Minister Shri R K Singh launches GRAM UJALA in Bihar LEDs will be available for only Rs 10 each for each rural household, in exchange for working condition old incandescent lamps: says Shri R K Singh

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Minister of State, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship ,Shri R K Singh launched the GRAM UJALA programme in Arrah, Bihar through a virtual event today .

While speaking at the event the Power Minister said that our rural population was still unable to afford discounted LEDs. This is why we have now created GRAM UJALA – a customized program for rural India, based uniquely and innovatively on carbon finance. LEDs will be available for only Rs 10 each for each... Read more..

Delhi govt will offer interest subvention of 5 per cent for EV policy: Gahlot

Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Sunday said that the Delhi government will soon introduce interest subvention of up to 5 per cent in purchase of electric-run vehicles in the city.

The step has been taken in view to promote Delhi government’s policy offering financial incentives on all categories of e-vehicles – two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, goods carriers, electric rickshaws.

“Subvention of 5 per cent to be provided through Delhi Finance Corporation (DFC) to ensure an easy financing option for vehicle owners to convert their fleet to electric,” Gahlot said... Read more..