Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Cambridge's $8.5-Billion Endowment to Respond to Divestment Push

Cambridge University’s 6.3 billion-pound ($8.5 billion) endowment fund may make a decision on whether it will divest from fossil fuels.

The British university’s governing council is set to respond to a report from its Divestment Working Group, a body of academics, researchers and students at Cambridge asked to study the issue. The document was submitted to the university’s trustees in April at the last... Read more..

BSES offers 'Energy Efficient AC Replacement Scheme' in Delhi with 47% discount

In a move to promote energy efficiency, Delhi power distribution company (discom) BSES on Monday announced an air conditioner (AC) replacement scheme which will allow consumers to save up to Rs 7,500 annually depending on the type of AC.

A discom statement said the "AC Replacement Scheme" launched by BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) in partnership with leading AC manufacturers will enable consumers in south... Read more..

World Bank extends $300 mn credit to scale up energy efficiency program

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a $220 million (Rs 1,496 crore) loan and an $80 million (Rs 544 crore) guarantee for the India Energy Efficiency Scale-Up Program. The Program, to be implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), will help scale up the deployment of energy saving measures in residential and public sectors, strengthen EESL’s institutional capacity, and enhance its access to commercial financing.

... Read more..

Bank of America raises US$2.25 billion in largest green bond issue

Bank of America Corp has issued a US$2.25 billion bond to support clean energy projects, the largest green bond issuance by the bank so far.

The bank has now issued four corporate green bonds, raising a total of US$4.35 billion for renewable energy projects since 2013.

"Green bonds are an important tool for... Read more..

Solar-power compliance needs more days: Federation of Sector Welfare Associations of Chandigarh

The Federation of Sector Welfare Associations of Chandigarh (Foswac) has asked the UT Administration to extend the deadline for installing solar-power plants atop residential buildings in the city. For the owners of 500-square-yard and bigger plots, this deadline expired on May 18, and in a memorandum handed over to the UT adviser here on Saturday, Foswac asked for more days.

The association stated in the... Read more..

Indore Municipal Corporation plans to run buses on bio-fuel made from vegetable waste

The industrial hub of Indore, is in a spic and span form after bagging the cleanest city tag in the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ for the second year.

For better waste management, the city civic body plans to run public transport buses on the bio-Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) made from the vegetable waste.

“We... Read more..

Merchant renewable energy plants get fillip from regulator CERC

Power regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has paved way for serious merchant renewable power plants by issuing guidelines for long-term transmission access while prescribing stringent rules against squatting and line underutilisation.

The commission has issued detailed procedure for grant of long- and medium-term transmission access to renewable energy project that has acquired half of... Read more..

Cabinet approves National Biofuel Policy

The Cabinet today approved the National Policy on Biofuels which allows doping of ethanol produced from damaged foodgrains, rotten potatoes, corn and sugar beet with petrol to cut oil imports by Rs 4,000 crore this year alone.

Till now only ethanol produced from sugarcane was allowed to be mixed in petrol.

... Read more..

Govt to ensure round-the-clock power supply for districts with less than 15% losses

The government is working on a plan to ensure round-the-clock power supply in districts with Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) loss levels of less than 15 per cent.

The power ministry’s technical planning wing Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has sought district-wise details of AT&C losses and power supply from all the state discoms. The data will be compiled in a report that will be sent... Read more..

India to see 15-fold jump in demand for power to cool homes, says IEA report

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that India will lead the world in terms of the power consumed for residential cooling. The agency estimates that India’s cooling-related energy demand will soar from 90 terawatt hour in 2016 to 1,350 terawatt hour (TWh) in 2050 — a 15-fold increase.

“The total space-cooling output capacity of residential air conditioners worldwide increases in line with the... Read more..

Home ministry plans to drive in electric vehicles, replace diesel

The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) is planning to switch to electric vehicles and replace diesel-guzzling vehicles, including heavy trucks and buses, and encourage use of solar and wind energy instead of generators as power backups, senior government officials said.

This comes as part of MHA’s gogreen 2022 road map which it seeks to achieve by reducing dependency on oil and gas that annually costs seven central armed police forces (CAPFs) around Rs 500 crore. Through these initiatives, the ministry officials believe they can cut down reliance on oil and gas by 10% by 2022.... Read more..

Bill Gates foundation to fund sludge treatment

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) will fund a project to treat sludge generated by a sewage treatment plant (STP) in the city and generate water and energy from it. 

The project has been proposed at the Atladara STP of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC).

A representative of the BMGF had... Read more..