Low Carbon News in India in February 2016
Govt doubles Clean Energy Cess on coal to Rs 400 per tonne
Renaming the Clean Energy Cess as Clean Environment Cess, the government today proposed to raise the cess on coal, lignite and peat from the current Rs 200 a tonne to Rs 400 per tonne. This was reported by India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha.
For details: Times of India
Budget 2016: Over Rs 7,290 crore allocated for AMRUT, ‘Smart Cities’ in budget
The government allocated about Rs 7,296 crore for two central schemes — Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and ‘Smart Cities’ Mission. The general budget 2016-17 earmarked an amount of Rs 3,205 cr for the development of 100 smart cities across the country by 2020, while nearly Rs 4,091 crore for AMRUT. For details: Economic Times
With a focus on financing, FY 17 budget increases fund allocation to IREDA
The Finance Minister of India presented the union budget for the financial year 2016-17 (April 16 – Mar 17). The most significant announcement is about an investment of INR 91 billion, an increase of INR 37 billion over the previous year in the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), the government owned renewables dedicated lender.
For details: Bridge to India
MNRE approved 33 solar parks in 21 states with aggregate capacity of 19,900 MW
Solar Energy Corporation of India ( SECI) gave detailed presentation highlighting salient features of the Scheme and physical and financial status of solar park scheme. Giving details , he said that as against 25 solar parks planned , the Ministry has approved 33 solar parks in 21 states with aggregate capacity of 19,900 MW. SECI has been made implementing agency and out of Rs 374 crore sanctioned , it has released Rs 54.93 crore to respective States development agencies. Depending upon the progress of works, solar parks have been categorised into “A”, B & C.
For details: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy website
Solar Tariffs Have Room To Fall Further: India Ratings
Solar tariffs are likely to fall further on a reduction in capital costs and solar power companies’ access to competitive funding, says India Ratings and Research. “Despite aggressive bidding, debt viability of projects with low execution and counter-party risks (especially those under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission scheme and Solar Park scheme), is likely to remain intact,” said India Ratings in a press release. Solar tariff hit record low of Rs. 4.34 per unit in an auction for a 70-MW solar plant under NTPC’s Bhadla Solar Park tender last month.
For details: Ndtv News
Vizag Port to Run All Its Operations on Solar Power from March
Vizag port in Andhra Pradesh is set to run its entire operations on solar power from next month, its chairman M T Krishna Babu said on Thursday.
Visakhapatnam Port Trust has already commissioned 2MW solar capacity and will add another 8MW by March 20, he said at a roadshow in Hyderabad ahead of Maritime India Summit 2016, to be held in Mumbai in April.
“We will be the first major port in the country to run entire port operations on solar energy,” Krishna Babu said, adding VPT has spent Rs. 60 crores to set up the plants.
For details: Ndtv news
US Wins WTO Trade Spat Over India Solar Power Rules
A World Trade Organization panel ruled Wednesday in favour of a US claim that India’s rules restricting what products can be used in its solar industry breach international trade regulations.
WTO’s dispute settlement board ruled that India’s requirement that only Indian-made products be used in large parts of its rapidly expanding solar power industry were “inconsistent” with a range of global trade regulations.
Washington hailed the decision.
The United States had complained to the WTO in 2013 that India’s rules discriminated against US makers of solar cells and modules.
According to the statement, the country has seen its solar exports to India plunge 90 percent since New Delhi in 2011 imposed the so-called domestic content requirements on solar power developers selling electricity to the government.
After consultations between the two countries failed, the issue was sent before the global trade body’s dispute settlement board in May 2014.
The panel had been expected to rule on the issue within six months, but its decision has repeatedly been pushed back as the two sides continued to negotiate.
In its ruling, the WTO panel rejected India’s arguments that the policy was needed to avoid disruption in imports and to ensure compliance with the country’s requirements to promote sustainable development.
For details: Ndtv news
Air pollution in Ahmedabad
Today if you dare to walk down Ahmedabad’s busy stretches during peak hours you will be exposed to a level of pollution that is almost 10 to 12 times more toxic than what is acceptable under the current central pollution control board standards. What is worrisome is the increasing levels of respirable particulate matter 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) in size that is pumped into the city’s air by lakhs of vehicles. PM2.5 is fifty times small of vehicles. PM2.5 is er than the thickness of an average human hair. These deadly emissions are from the 13 lakh-odd vehicles out of total 25 lakh that ply on our roads every day, and burn 2.5 crore litres of diesel and 1.5 crore litres of petrol a month. The levels of PM 2.5 pollution today in Ahmedabad’s air is comparable to any of the highly populated Chinese cities like Nanjing, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou which are also among the worst cities in terms of ambient air quality .
For details: Times of India
Disaster-Prone Kosi Basin in Bihar To Be Better Warned About Floods
It’s an area prone to annual devastating floods but little empirical data about it was available to anticipate potential disasters and maintain resilient livelihoods for the millions of people inhabiting the area. Now a Kathmandu-based international organisation dedicated to environmentally-sound mountain development strategies has set up an information system to tackle the threat. “We have created a platform known as the Kosi Basin Information System (KBIS) that integrates data on climate change, land use, sedimentation, and water-based livelihoods to help individuals understand the changes happening in the basin,” Shahriar Wahid, Project Coordinator for the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), told IANS. He said the platform also provides a 48-hour flood warning, using data collected from satellite technology and national weather agencies. Last monsoon, for the first time, Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology used the regional flood outlook to issue a flood warning, added Wahid, who was here for a two-day knowledge forum workshop.
The project’s partners from Nepal, India and China have been working for the past two years to generate knowledge and help communities in the basin prepare for disasters and maintain resilient livelihoods.
For details: Ndtv news
20 cities asked to launch smart city projects by June 25: Venkaiah Naidu
Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asked the first batch of 20 cities selected in the first round of competition to launch respective smart city projects by June 25 this year, marking the one year of launch of the Mission by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year.
He was addressing a workshop “India Smart City Mission: Next Steps” on Monday. Senior officials from states and union territories and municipal commissioners of the 20 top ranked cities and 23 cities participating in the fast track competition attended the day long workshop to discuss the way forward.
Details: DNA