Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Tirupur Corporation to produce vehicle fuel from municipal waste

The City Corporation of Tirupur in Tamil Nadu has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Leather Research Institute (CSIR-CLRI), Chennai.

It is aimed to set up a plant to produce bio-compressed natural gas from municipal solid waste. The project called ‘Waste into Wheels’ will use methane as an alternative for vehicle fuel instead of generating electricity.

India delays plan to roll out 10,000 electric cars to 2019

India has pushed back a deadline to put thousands of battery-driven cars on the road by nearly a year, in a setback to its ambitions of having electric vehicles comprise about a third of its fleet by 2030.

State-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd., which is responsible for procuring electric cars to replace the petrol and diesel vehicles used by government officials, will roll out the first 10,000 vehicles... Read more..

LONGi Solar’s P-type mono bifacial shingled cell module sets 20.66% efficiency record

‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Solar, subsidiary of LONGi Green Energy, the leading integrated monocrystalline PV manufacturer has set a new P-type mono bifacial ‘shingled’ cell formatted module conversion efficiency record of 20.66%. 

The China General Certification Center (CGC) was said to have validated the conversion efficiency record. 

... Read more..

BEE signs pacts for promoting energy efficiency standards

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), an arm of the power ministry, announced it has signed two pacts for promoting energy efficiency in the Petrochemical and Energy Efficiency Appliances sector.

The first agreement was signed with Engineers India Limited (EIL) for implementation of energy efficiency in the Petrochemical sector under the Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme. The second MoU was signed with... Read more..

Gujarat government launches policy to reuse treated waste water

The Gujarat government today unveiled its 'Reuse of Treated Waste Water Policy' which aims to reduce the state's dependence on fresh water sources like the Narmada river.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel launched the policy at a function held in Gandhinagar today.

The policy... Read more..

Grid connected clean energy capacity reaches 70 GW in April

Under the grid connected renewable capacity, India did not add any capacity of Waste to Power and Biomass (Bagasse) Cogeneration).
India added 269.64 MW of renewable energy capacity last month taking the total grid connected clean energy capacity to 70,053.81 MW as on April 30, a government report has said. 

According to the report by the ministry of new and renewable energy, India added 34,165 MW of... Read more..

EU may ban plastic straws, stirs, cotton buds

The European Union (EU) on Monday proposed a bloc-wide ban on single-use plastics such as straws and cutlery while urging the collection of most plastic drinks bottles by 2025.

The proposals are part of a growing EU drive to rid the environment of plastic waste which has begun showing up in the food chain.

... Read more..

SoftBank, IL&FS team up to power 20 Gigawatt solar power parks

The SoftBank Group is tying up with infrastructure conglomerate IL&FS to develop more than 20 gigawatts of solar capacity in India by 2025 to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious renewable energy road map for the country.

This comes less than two months after the Japanese group teamed up with China’s GCL System Integration Technology for a $930 million (Rs 6,350 crore) India solar power... Read more..

Divergent AAR rulings put solar companies in a bind

Divergent decisions from two separate Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) on the GST rate applicable on installation of solar plants have thrown the solar industry into a conundrum. 

The industry has knocked at the doors of the government seeking clarity on the matter. Two rulings, from the Maharashtra AAR, have favoured a GST rate of 18%, treating installation as a whole works contract. The Karnataka AAR,... Read more..

Aquafil-H&M Collaboration, Cotton Dyeing Process Making Textiles More ‘Effective’

This year, the world’s largest event on sustainability in fashion, the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, included an Innovation Competition that saw 12 finalists pitch their technologies onstage in front of a panel of expert judges and Summit attendees. After a series of presentations and judging sessions over the two day event, the winner was announced: ColorZen.

ColorZen applies a patented pre-treatment to cotton... Read more..

NIWE extends EoI deadline for 1 GW offhshore wind energy

National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has extended the deadline for submission of expression of interest to June 8 from May 25 and also relaxed eligibility norms for 1GW offshore wind capacities to be set up off the Gujarat coast. 

The NIWE, which is an autonomous body under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, had invited expression of interest (EoI) last month for 1GW offshore wind capacities to be set... Read more..

Dynapower and Raychem RPG commission 1MW microgrid in Uttar Pradesh

Vermont-headquartered inverter supplier Dynapower and Mumbai-based technology firm Raychem RPG have commissioned what they claim to be India’s first 1MW microgrid using solar, diesel and energy storage at a Central Electronics Limited (CEL) facility in Sahibadad, Uttar Pradesh.

The project features Dynapower’s CPS-1000 inverter, following a partnership agreement that will see Dynapower’s energy storage... Read more..