Page 37 - Environment
Solar industry needs to ensure efficient use of water: Bridge to India
The solar industry needs to act proactively to ensure efficient use of water for cleaning of solar panels and justify the 'environmentally-friendly' tag, consulting and research services provider Bridge To India said Wednesday. The statement has come against the background of an advisory issued by the New and Renewable Energy Ministry (MNRE) on optimal utilisation of water by the sector for cleaning of solar panels. "This is a belated acknowledgement of the increasing water risks faced by the solar sector...," Bridge To India said in a statement, and added that rightly, MNRE has refrained from mandating use of any specific technology. The firm further said that it is common industry belief that solar modules require two cleaning cycles per month to reduce soiling losses to a level of 1 per cent. However, actual water consumption varies widely depending on water availability, cost of water, location of power plant and level of environmental consciousness, amongst other factors. "Around
Solar power tariff remains low at Rs 2.5 per unit in SECI auction
State-owned power giant NTPC, Mahindra Susten, Hero Future Energies and Azure Power Maple on Wednesday emerged as the lowest bidders for 750-MW solar projects, in an auction by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The four firms quoted a tariff of Rs 2.5 per unit each in a reverse auction conducted by the SECI on Wednesday for Rajasthan Tranche II (750 MW) projects, a source said. The source also said NTPC bid for 160 MW in Rajasthan Tranche-II 750-MW solar tender, while Mahindra Susten showed interest for 200 MW. Similarly, Hero Future Energies showed interest for 250 MW and Azure Power Maple wanted 100 MW out of this auction. With this auction, NTPC has won an aggregate solar capacity of 505 MW so far under tariff-based competitive bidding tenders of states, a source said. The tariffs had hit the lowest rate of Rs 2.44 per in May 2017 for Rajasthan's Bhadla projects. Later also, the tariffs had touched the low of 2.44 per MW at least twice. India has an ambitious target of .
Ozone pollution higher in Delhi due to heat wave; poses serious health risk: Study
Ozone level has increased manifold in the national capital due to severe heat wave this season posing a serious health risk, a recent study has revealed and suggested aggressive control of industrial and vehicular emissions. According to the air quality index (AQI), released everyday by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), ozone is emerging as a dominant pollutant along with particulate matter (PM), especially in Delhi and NCR areas, said environment think tank CSE. "It is shocking to note that according to the AQI which the CPCB releases every day, ozone, along with particulate matter, has been the dominant pollutant of the day on 28 days between April 1 and June 5, 2019. "During the same period in 2018, ozone was the dominant pollutant along with particulate matter on only 17 days," the study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said. After tracking the daily ozone data, the CSE has found that this summer, when the capital witnessed searing heat wave, average ozone levels .
Tamil Nadu: Heat wave results in dead fishes in Chinthamani Lake
Fishes were found dead on the periphery of the dried up Selva Chinthamani lake caused by the severe heat wave, here on Wednesday.The constant spell of scorching heat in Tamil Nadu has caused acute water shortage and deficient rain has not made the current scenario in the state any better.The extreme weather conditions in the southern state of India has resulted in protests breaking outside the Coimbatore City Corporation Office by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) too, sending a message to the state about its worsening water condition.The water crisis has affected Tamil Naidu's neighbouring state Karnataka as well. The extreme water scarcity has led to a long unbroken chain of drought for the past two years.
ArcelorMittal confirms Italian arm raises concern with govt for legal safeguard
Global steel giant ArcelorMittal confirmed Wednesday that its Italian arm AMI has raised concerns with the government about the Crescita law decree which removes the existing legal safeguards to operate the facility. The law decree is expected to be ratified into law by June 29. "ArcelorMittal Italia (AMI) has highlighted to the Italian government its concerns about the current text of the Crescita law decree. If ratified as currently drafted, the provision concerning the Taranto plant would impair any operator's ability to operate the plant while implementing the environmental plan approved by the Italian Government in September 2017, including for ArcelorMittal," the company said in a statement. The Taranto plant has been under seizure since 2012 and cannot be operated without legal protection until the environmental plan is implemented, the world's largest steelmaker said. The company said the 2017 environmental plan is designed to address the Taranto plant's long-standing issues ..
"Don't politicise water crisis, govt tackling nature's fury"
Flaying those 'politicising' the severe water crisis in Tamil Nadu, state fisheries Minister D Jayakumar Wednesday said the government has been making up for the deficit created by successive failed monsoons. He maintained that the government would be able to manage the crisis until the northeast monsoon, which brings rains to the state between October and December. "Despite failed monsoons, one should see how the government is handling the issue. Politicising it is not at all acceptable," Jayakumar told reporters here. Listing out various efforts taken by the government, he said around 400 water tankers were making 9,000 trips distributing water across the city. "At a time when even nature is not offering a helping hand, we are pumping one tmc of water from Mettur to Veeranam lake, from where the water is channelised into the city," he said. The minister said that the government would be able to meet the needs of the people till november and expressed confidence that ...
Thousands of big energy reps at UN climate talks: monitor
Lobby groups representing some of the world's biggest polluters have sent thousands of delegates to negotiations aimed at limiting global warming since UN climate talks began, according to data obtained by AFP. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) brings together nations, environmental groups, scientists and policymakers to work on measures to stave off the worst social, economic and ecological threats posed by runaway temperatures. Trade associations that represent oil and gas majors are entitled under the convention's own rules to attend annual UNFCCC talks and inter-sessional meetings as observers. They frequently host networking side events or presentations and have the same status and access permits at negotiations as environmental charities. But there is currently no protection against potential conflicts of interest between nations which need emissions slashed rapidly in order to survive, and the biggest emitters whose business plans are still ...
Zero-tolerance policy for states that fail to allot land for Central institutes: HRD minister
The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry will adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards states that fail to allot land for centrally funded institutes, including the IITs and the IIITs, and will shift those to other cities if the campuses are not provided within a stipulated time, officials said Wednesday. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' made this announcement at a recent review meeting of the IITs, IIMs, NITs and IIITs. The Indian Institute of Technology-Goa and the National Institute of Technology-Sikkim are functioning out of temporary campuses. IIT-Goa started functioning from July, 2016 and has been operating from Goa Engineering College, Farmadi. The Goa government had sanctioned land at Cotarli-Nagvem for the institute but had to go back on its promise following agitation. Construction of the other IITs, sanctioned by the Centre, in Jammu, Dharwad, Tirupati, Bhilai and Palakkad, which have been allotted land, is underway. The National Institute of Technology-Sikkim was
Anti-dumping duty imposed on jute sacking cloths from B'desh
India has imposed anti-dumping duty on the import of jute sacking cloths from Bangladesh which will have a positive impact on West Bengal's ailing jute sector. "Anti-dumping duty on sacking cloth from Bangladesh was our long standing demand to save the Indian jute sector. With active efforts of Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani, this has been achieved," jute industry veteran Sanjay Kajaria said in his reaction. "It will be applicable for 5 years effective from June 18, 2019," he said. This will help jute farmers and the jute mills of West Bengal which are ailing or running in a very low capacity, Kajaria said. The IJMA had filed an application for initiation of anti-circumvention investigation concerning import of the product exported from Bangladesh. It has requested for extension of the existing anti- dumping duties on the imports, alleging circumvention of the duty. Countries carry out anti-dumping probe to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt
Greenpeace sounds alarm over plastic pollution in rivers
Greenpeace on Wednesday raised the alarm over microplastics in rivers after finding the pollutant in all the rivers it tested in Britain, calling it a "problem of enormous complexity". "We ignore this problem at our peril," warned David Santillo, senior scientist with the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter. "Once microplastics are in the river, they become impossible to remove again, so we have to solve the problem at the source." Researchers from the NGO tested 13 rivers earlier this year, casting nets in 30 rural and urban areas. They found 1,271 pieces of 15 different types of plastic, nearly half of which were polyethylene, and included items from degraded straws to microbeads. Only two of the "relatively rural" 30 areas did not test positive, Greenpeace said in its report, published Wednesday. "We are witnessing just the tip of a plastics iceberg," it said. The nets were only able to collect samples that were no deeper than 10 centimetres (four ...
MP govt fixes Rs 5000 as minimum aid to calamity-hit farmers
The Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh Wednesday announced to provide Rs 5000 in minimum compensation to the small and marginal farmers in the event of crop loss due to natural calamities. Revenue and Transport Minister Govind Singh Rajput also said that the government has taken several administrative steps including filling up vacant posts of Patwaris (revenue officials) for speedy work. The Kamal Nath-led government recently completed six months in power. "The state government has decided that minimum compensation for the small and marginal farmers would be Rs 5000 in case of crop loss due to a natural calamity. We have made amendments to this effect in rules," Rajput told a press conference. The minister said the government had also taken measures like filling up vacant posts of Patwaris to fast track the redressal of matters pertaining to land. "As per a pilot project being launched in two districts of the state, Patwariswould be given laptops for expediting .
Tripura now exporting power to Nepal: DyCM
Power surplus state, Tripura in now exporting electricity to Nepal, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Devvarma said Wednesday. Devvarma who is also the Power minister said "We have been selling 190 MW power to Bangladesh for last so many years and now we have started exporting 40 MW power to Nepal from our surplus power since April last". "The proceeds earned from selling surplus power is being used for developing the state power corporation," the deputy chief minister said. ONGC Tripura Power Company-run Palatana gas thermal power plant produces 726 MW power. However, this plant has power sharing agreements with different NE states. The Union Ministry of Power has allocated more than 58 per cent of power from the project to the Northeast states with Assam (240 MW), Tripura (196 MW), Meghalaya (79 MW), Manipur (42 MW), Nagaland (27 MW), Arunachal Pradesh & Mizoram (22 MW each), while 98 MW is allocated to OTPC for merchant sales. The Rs 4,047 crore power plant is capable .
Adani Green Energy arm bags 600 MW solar wind hybrid projects
Adani Green Energy Wednesday said its arm Adani Renewable Energy Park (Gujarat) has bagged 600 MW wind-solar hybrid projects in an auction conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The company has received Letters of Award (LOAs) from SECI for the 600 MW projects. The fixed power purchase agreement (PPA) tariff is Rs 2.69/kWh for a period of 25 years, it added. "Adani Renewable Energy Park (Gujarat) Ltd (AREPGL), a Wholly-owned Subsidiary of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) had won bids for setting up 600 MWac ISTS-connected Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Projects in a Tender issued by SECI," the company said in a BSE filing. The projects are expected to be commissioned by Q4 of FY2021. With this, AGEL's portfolio of renewable generation capacity in India stands at 5.16 GW with 2.02 GW operational projects and balance 3.14 GW in development stage.
RPower gets CERC nod to meet new environment norms at Sasan UMPP
Reliance Power's 3,960 MW project at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh has received regulatory nod from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission for implementing a system to control emissions and meet new environmental norms. The CERC approval would enable the company to recover the cost of the system from its consumers, according to the company. "Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) has received a specific regulatory recommendation from Central Electricity Authority for implementation of the Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) System to meet the new environmental norms prescribed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)," a company spokesperson said. The MoEFCC had notified new environmental norms as per Environment (Protection) Amendment Rules 2015 on December 7, 2015 to minimise pollution in thermal power plants. All the thermal power plants are required to comply with new environmental norms by September 2022. The Sasan UMPP, which has six generating units of 660
Sri Lanka successfully launches its first satellite 'Ravana-1' into orbit
Sri Lanka's first satellite 'Ravana-1', designed and developed by two local engineers, was successfully launched into orbit this week from the International Space Station (ISS) along with two other BIRDS 3 satellites from Japan and Nepal. Raavana 1, the cube satellite measuring 11.3 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm, and weighing around 1.05 kg, was launched into orbit at 3:45 pm (Sri Lanka time) on Monday, the Colombo Page reported. The satellite was designed and developed by two Sri Lankan engineers - Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika - studying space engineering at Japan's Kyushu Institute of Technology. Raavana-1 was deployed to the 400-km of orbit at an inclination of 51.6 degrees using the JAXA (Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency) owned Kibo experiment module, the paper said. The satellite was officially handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on February 18 and was sent to the ISS on April 17, through the assistance of Cygnus-1 spacecraft from the US. Raavana-1 is ...
South Korea to send 50,000 tons of rice to North Korea
South Korea said Wednesday it plans to send 50,000 tons of rice to North Korea through the World Food Programme, in its second aid package announced over the past month as it seeks to help with North Korean food shortages and improve bilateral relations. South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, Seoul's point man for North Korea, said his government will work with the U.N. agency to ensure that the food reaches North Korean people without delay. South Korea last week sent USD 8 million to the World Food Program and the United Nations Children's Fund for programs providing medical and nutritional aid for North Korean children and pregnant women. UN agencies last month said that about 10 million people were facing "severe food shortages" after one of North Korea's worst harvests in a decade. Kim said South Korea will decide whether to provide more food aid after reviewing the outcome of the current assistance. Kim said South Korea and WFP are reviewing how to send the rice to ...
MEIL constructs world's largest lift irrigation marvel
MEIL, India's leading infrastructure company has completed the construction of the world's biggest engineering marvel, the largest lift irrigation scheme namely the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation.It is going to be inaugurated on 21st June. Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) have completed the project on a fast track mode and the construction has been completed in record time. All the civil and electro-mechanical works in Medigadda to Mid-Maneru link-1 and link-2 has been completed.Leading the industry with decades of experience, the company installed 105 Machines out of 120 machines and constructed 17 pump houses out of 20 in entire KLIP. Medigadda, Annaram, Sundilla (link 1) pump houses along with the world's biggest pump house at Lakshmipur (Package 8 in link 2) are ready for pumping water. This prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation (KLIP) Project would cater irrigation water to 37.08 lakh acres of land; another 18.82 lakh acres of command area will be stabilized ...
DRI seizes black pepper worth nearly 4 cr smuggled in from Singapore
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized black pepper worth Rs 3.92 crore smuggled in to India from Singapore. The commodity was mis-declared as plywood to be sent to Nepal via India under the provisions of the Indo-Nepal Treaty on Trade and Transit, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday. Acting on inputs, DRI officials seized from a godown here two containers carrying 56 metric ton of black pepper, it said. Explaining the modus operandi, a DRI official said that the black pepper was smuggled in from Singapore for its illegal sale and consumption in India. "A syndicate, which is being probed in this case, would swap the goods with other items. Ultimately, the goods don't reach Nepal and downloaded in Indian market. In some cases, even if they go to Nepal, they come back in some form or other from that country. Usually the goods are grossly mis-declared," he said. Nepal being a landlocked country sources its imports through different sea ports of India .
Wheat plants that can survive drought conditions developed
Scientists have engineered wheat plants that utilise water more efficiently, and may be able to better survive drought conditions arising due to climate change. Scientists at the University of Sheffield in the UK found that engineering wheat to have fewer stomata helps the crop to use water more efficiently, while maintaining yields. Agriculture accounts for 80-90 per cent of freshwater use around the world, and on average it takes more than 1,800 litres of water to produce a single kilogramme of wheat. Yet as water supplies become scarce and more variable in the face of climate breakdown, farmers will need to produce more food than ever to feed a growing population. Like most plants, wheat uses stomata to regulate its intake of carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, as well as the release of water vapour. When water is plentiful, stomatal opening helps plants to regulate temperature by evaporative cooling -- similar to sweating. In drought conditions, wheat plants normally close their ...
Massive traffic jam on Srinagar-Leh highway near Zojila pass
A massive traffic jam near 11,575 feet high Zojila pass along 434-km Srinagar-Leh national highway Wednesday left thousands of commuters including tourists stranded for hours altogether, officials said. The traffic on the highway came to a halt when the Border Roads Organisation, which maintains the highway, pressed its men and machines to carry out some urgent repairs on the arterial road, the officials said. "We had reached Zojila pass around forenoon and are caught in a massive traffic jam for the last four hours," a tourist heading for Leh told PTI. He said the authorities concerned should have intimated the travellers before suddenly stoping the traffic and causing unnecessary inconvenience to them. "There is no information and we do not know how long we have to face this nightmare," he said. A traffic department official said the traffic on the highway was restored and cops are on the job to ensure smooth movement of vehicles.