Low Carbon News in India in August 2013
Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy Targets for National Thermal Power Corporation
India’s largest power company National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has recently announced a plan to add about 1,000 MW capacity through renewable resources by 2017. The company has already commissioned 10 MW Solar PV Projects and another 85 MW Solar PV while 8 MW small hydro projects are under implementation. About 70 MW solar projects are under tendering process. In the long run, by 2032, about 9 per cent of the installed capacity is expected to be based on renewable sources of energy.
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/ntpc-bets-big-on-green-energy/1/198162.html
Rooftop Solar Policy in Uttarakhand State
Date: August 26, 2013
Due to the rapidly growing power demand and decline in share of hydropower, the government of Uttarakhand state has introduced a new policy to harness solar energy using unutilised space on rooftops and wasteland around buildings.The state of Uttarakhand has come up with innovative rooftop solar policy. Under the scheme, the ministry of new and renewable energy would provide one-time subsidy of 30% on the benchmark cost of the project. The government has fixed a target of producing 2,500 Kw of solar power this year from the new rooftop scheme.
Waste
Date: August 27, 2013
Seminar on Waste Management
A National Seminar on ‘Preparing for the urban challenges of the 21st century’, with focus on solid waste management was held recently in Thiruvananthapuram city. The seminar was organized by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) in association with the state government. The sessions highlighted waste management issues in Indian cities, technology developments, advantages and disadvantages of different methods, new initiatives and public private partnerships in waste management.
Transport
Workshop on Low Carbon Comprehensive Mobility Plans (LCMP) for Indian cities
Recently an experience sharing workshop on preparation of Low-carbon Comprehensive Mobility Plans (LCMP) in Indian Cities was held at Udaipur on 22 -23 August 2013. During the workshop, LCMP plans for three Indian cities – Rajkot, Vishakhapatnam and Udaipur were presented. The LCMP work is being carried out in close coordination with the Ministry of Urban Development, and implemented by UNEP Risø Centre, in cooperation with key local partners, including the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and the CEPT University and consultants for the three cities The objective was to receive feedback on these plans and share experiences on applying the methodology for preparation of LCMP and present a revised methodology (toolkit). The workshop also reflected on the outcomes from cities in terms of the national ambitions for reducing emissions from transport sector while improving accessibility. The workshop participants included academicians, researchers and practitioners
Reference: http://www.unep.org/transport/lowcarbon/Pdf’s/udaipur_2013Agenda.pdf
Energy Efficiency
Aviation, railways may come under energy norms in India
The government of India is considering to enforce energy efficiency norms for its aviation sector and possibly railways. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is thinking of options to include both aviation and railways, along with a few other large energy-intensive industries, in its second cycle of “Perform, Achieve and Trade’ (PAT) scheme set to begin from 2015 onwards. A final decision on whether both aviation and railways would be a part of the scheme would be taken by the beginning of the next financial year.
PAT, launched under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency which is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), has set separate energy efficiency targets for various industries. Those fail to meet this will have to face the penalty. The first cycle which started in 2012 will end in March 2015.
Publications
Guidebook on Low Carbon City Planning
A guidebook on low carbon city planning was published by UNEP recently. This guidebook is produced as part of a larger research project on “Promoting Low Carbon Transport in India”, a major initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), hereafter referred to as the Low Carbon Transport (LCT) project in this document.
The principal aim of the guidebook is to provide basic guidance to city level policy makers, urban planners, transport planners and consultants who are collectively referred to as “city planners” on:
- How to incorporate globally agreed upon climate change objectives, targets and policies in longterm city level development plans.
- How to align national development and climate change agendas with city level development plans.
- How to delineate win-win options that deliver multiple co-benefits, besides climate change benefits, such as air quality improvement, improved energy access, reduced congestion in the transport system, and improved national energy security.
Reference: http://www.unep.org/transport/lowcarbon/publications.asp