Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Ola pilot project: Electric cabs across major cities in three months

ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs cab-hailing service Ola, will shortly introduce fully electric cabs on a pilot basis in major Indian cities.

“There is a lot of focus on electric vehicles. We shall be rolling out electric cabs in top cities in three months,” Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and chief executive officer of Ola, said in an interview.

Date : Mar 28

Source: livemint

Delhi, Faridabad among 5 cities with worst air pollution, says government

Delhi and Faridabad were among the top five cities with the worst air pollution in the country between 2015 and 2016, the Rajya Sabha was informed today. “Cities can be ranked on the basis of different criteria pollutants with different results. Five cities where higher values of air quality index have been observed for the period between November 2015 to October 2016 are Delhi, Faridabad, Varanasi, Lucknow and Jaipur,” Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said in a written reply. He was asked which were the... Read more..

Date : Mar 28

Source: The Financial Express

Delhi Metro’s roof-top solar project gets registered with UN climate framework

The Delhi Metro’s initiative to install roof-top solar power plants at its premises has become the “first-ever” green project to be registered with a UN framework on climate change for any metro or railway system in the world. The clean development mechanism project has been registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the ‘small scale category’ for facilities with an installed solar capacity of less than 15 MW, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) today said. “... Read more..

Date : Mar 28

Source: The Financial Express

Macquarie in talks to buy solar power assets of Hindustan Power

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) is in advanced talks to acquire a 320 megawatt (MW) portfolio of solar assets from Hindustan Power Projects Pvt. Ltd (HPPPL), two people familiar with the development said.

HPPPL, formerly known as Moser Baer Projects Pvt. Ltd, has over 600MW of solar capacity. In April, it commissioned a 1,200MW thermal power plant at Anuppur in Madhya Pradesh.... Read more..

Date : Mar 28

Source: Deal Street Asia

NTPC mulls buying $1.3 billion stake in SJVN from government

NTPC Ltd., India’s biggest electricity producer, is seeking to buy the federal government’s stake in hydro-power producer SJVN Ltd. to boost its share of non-fossil fuel generation capacity, according to people with knowledge of the development.

New Delhi-based NTPC has written to the finance ministry’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management proposing to buy India’s stake in SJVN, the people... Read more..

Date : Mar 28

Source: The Economic Times

Soon, solar plants on roofs of govt offices, schools and colleges in West Bengal: Sobhandeb

State power department is keen to generate solar energy in the state by setting up solar plants on roofs of government offices, schools and colleges, state Power minister Sobhandeb Chatterjee said at Rampurhat in Birbhum on Monday.

Chatterjee visited the district to inaugurate a solar power plant at Rampurhat College on Monday. The minister also offered prayers at Tarapith during his trip. Rampurhat MLA and... Read more..

Date : Mar 28

Source: Millennium Post

Waste from hotels to soon power Coimbatore homes

The city corporation is planning to set up a 50 metric tonne biogas plant, that will generate electricity using food waste collected from hotels and restaurants.

The huge plant will be set up near the crematorium at Chokkam Pudur or the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation power station at Kavundampalayam, sources said.

Date : Mar 28

Source: ET Energyworld

35 countries identify ‘Scale’ and ‘Innovation’ as key drivers for climate agenda

FICCI, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, The World Bank Group, The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), with the support of GIZ, organized the 10^th edition of the India Climate Policy and Business Conclave at the Park Hotel in New Delhi. The two day conclave, supported by Sustainability Outlook, drew 200 participants from business and industry,... Read more..

Date : Mar 28

Source: Sustainability Outlook

Greenko Energy raises $155 million

Greenko Energy Holdings, a renewable energy company, has signed definitive agreement for a primary equity raising of $155 million from an affiliate of GIC and another entity that is wholly-owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). GIC, a global investment firm, is investing $123.9 million and the ADIA subsidiary will invest the remaining $31.1 million. With this transaction, GIC continues to be the majority shareholder of Greenko. The funds will contribute to Greenko’s platform through the... Read more..

Date : Mar 28

Source: The Financial Express

IREDA to sanction Rs 13000 crore loans for renewables in FY18

State-run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will sanction Rs 13,000 crore for clean energy projects next fiscal in the country, vying for around 20 per cent of the loan market share.

With the government aiming at adding around 15 to 16 GW of clean energy projects, including solar and wind, there would be total credit market size of around Rs 65,000 crore.

Date : Mar 27

Source: The Economic Times

Renewables to account for over 60 per cent of India's power capacity: Piyush Goyal

Enthused by drop in renewable energy tariff, Power Minister Piyush Goyal today said India's 60-65 per cent of installed power generation capacity will be green energy.

"Going by prices we have discovered, I am inspired to say that 60-65 per cent of India's installed capacity base will be green energy," Goyal said at Take Pride event organised by CII.

Date : Mar 27

Source: ET Energyworld

Hindustan Zinc plans solar power projects worth Rs 425 crore by next year: CEO

Hindustan Zinc today said its 15 MW solar projects in Rajasthan will get commissioned this month, and it is also planning to invest Rs 425 crore for 85 MW power plants by next year.

"We are in the process of putting up 15 MW (rooftop solar power plants) which will get commissioned before March 31. We would be using 15 MW for captive use," Hindustan Zinc (HZL) CEO Sunil Duggal told PTI in an interview.... Read more..

Date : Mar 27

Source: ET Energyworld

Green plan to save Rs 41,000 crore crore power expenditure for Indian Railways

Indian Railways is planning to save a staggering Rs 41,000 crore expenditure towards power consumption over the next decade by gradually switching to non-conventional energy.

Railway minister Suresh Prabhu announced the plan while addressing the e-inauguration of DigiPay initiative at the railway station here. He also announced various development projects at other stations in the South Central Railway from... Read more..

Date : Mar 27

Source: ET Energyworld

Mumbai airport goes green: replaces water in urinals with ammonia-breaking bacteria

Mumbai’s Chhattrapati Shivaji International Airport recently adopted a method to reduce the use of water in its urinals and cleaning of floors. In the process, the airport has managed to save one lakh litres of water each day.

As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, the administration has introduced ammonia-feeding bacteria in urinals.

Date : Mar 27

Source: Daily News & Analysis

Energy resources will be exhausted in 40 years: Expert

“Scientist and researchers are continuously trying to find suitable alternative fuels which are economical and environment friendly as present sources of energy like oil, coal, etc will be exhausted in the next 40 years,.” said GK Ghosal, former HoD, petrochemical department, Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (LIT), Nagpur and petroleum expert and R & D consultant, Solar Industries India Ltd.

He was... Read more..

Date : Mar 27

Source: ET Energyworld

Tough targets hinder e-waste rule rollout

The implementation of the e-waste rules 2016, which are to come into force this May, may now be delayed with industry associations of electrical and electronic equipment demanding a relaxation in targets of e-waste collection for recycling as specified in the rules.

The e-waste rules 2016 specify that firms collect 30% of the e-waste generated by them in the first two years of implementation of rules. But... Read more..

Date : Mar 27

Source: The Times of India

Hydroelectric projects are the best option for meeting energy needs, says Kerala minister

Hydroelectric projects are the best option as they cost less and do not have bigger environment impact, said minister for power M M Mani. "The only problem is the loss of forest land. If we can minimize that, there is no better solution than hydroelectric projects for the power crisis," said Mani. He was speaking after distributing the prizes to the winners of the painting contest organized by Energy Management Centre in association with The Times of India.

Date : Mar 27

Source: ET Energyworld

NTPC Plans to Achieve 32 GW Installed Capacity via Renewable Sources by 2032

NTPC Ltd. has raised Rs. 2,000 crore through issuance of green masala bonds in overseas market under its USD 4 billion medium term note programme. The proceeds of these bonds will be used for financing renewable energy projects in accordance with applicable guidelines and regulations of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, Mines New & Renewable Energy and Mines in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Date : Mar 27

Source: Press Information Bureau

Delhi saves 290 MW by switching off lights during Earth Hour

Switching off lights and electrical appliances during the Earth Hour initiative this year, Delhi saved around 290 MW of power, the capital's distribution companies (discoms) announced on Sunday.

The global Earth Hour initiative aimed at energy conservation was observed between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm on Saturday.

Date : Mar 27

Source: India Today In

India must maximize solar power use for higher GDP growth rates: Expert

"India can become a super power if its economy becomes stronger and its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) grows at 9.5%. For this to happen, use of solar power should be maximized as it would be one of the major contributors in future," said GD Yadav, vice-chancellor of Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, on Thursday.

Speaking at the second national workshop on 'Solar energy utilization for sustainable... Read more..

Date : Mar 24

Source: ET Energyworld

‘Onus on Centre to recycle waste paper’

The Union Government should come out with norms at the earliest to recover and recycle waste paper, according to PG Mukundan, secretary general of Indian Agro and Recycled Paper Mills Association.

He told The Hindu that 70% of paper industry is based on non-wood. And, 60 % of it uses waste paper as raw material. Hence, availability of waste paper is critical. But, domestic waste paper collection is localised... Read more..

Date : Mar 24

Source: The Hindu

Rajkot ready with Rs 2,623cr proposal for Smart City

Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has prepared the Smart City proposal and will be sending it to the central government to obtain grants under the Smart City Mission. Rajkot is among the 100 cities selected by the central government under the mission.

According to Rajkot municipal commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani, the state government has approved the proposal and it will sent it to the central government... Read more..

Date : Mar 24

Source: The Times of India

Solar-powered skin for prosthetic limbs

Amputees with prosthetic limbs may soon get a better sense of touch, temperature and texture, thanks to the energy-saving power of the sun, British researchers said on Thursday.

While prosthetics are usually fully powered using batteries, a new prototype from University of Glasgow researchers opens up the possibility for solar-powered skin, which would include better sense capabilities than current... Read more..

Date : Mar 24

Source: The Hindu

Uncertainty over micro-grids future, roadblock for the sector

Uncertainty around tariff payment and its future in case grid power reaches villages, are major areas of concern plaguing the micro grid sector, according to Feedback Business Consulting.

“The biggest challenge in operating a micro-grid is the uncertainty around tariff payment and the absence of large commercial loads in villages. Developers wants to ensure steady recovery of their capital investment and... Read more..

Date : Mar 24

Source: The Economic Times

LED bulbs to replace 2.76 lakh street lights in Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari villages

District Collector K Bhaskar on Thursday said all street lights in villages in West Godavari would be replaced by energy efficient LED bulbs by next year to reduce the power bills of panchayats.

Speaking after distributing LED tube lights to power consumers at a programme at the Collectorate here, the Collector said all villages in the district were electrified. About 2.76 lakh street lights in villages... Read more..

Date : Mar 24

Source: The New Indian Express