India Green News: Solar Tarrifs Have Fallen by 73 Percent and More

India Green News is a selection of news highlights about environmental and energy issues in India.

March 14 – March 27, 2017

CLIMATE CHANGE

Shri Piyush Goyal reiterates India’s commitments to combat climate change at the 'World Conference on Environment 2017'

Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal, while addressing an august gathering at the 'World Conference on Environment 2017' here, said that such conferences are very appropriate in the current scenario as these discussions help us to come up with new ideas and bring back the focus on sensitive subjects like climate change. Shri Goyal said that we are living on this planet and using its resources as if we have another planet to go to later. 

The Minister stated that it is time that human beings understand that climate change is a challenge caused by humans only and ultimately it is humans who can address it. He noted that the largest loss experienced due to climate change is to the poorest and the underprivileged section of the society. In 1911, Mahatma Gandhi had used the phrase 'Economy of Nature’ that brought out his deep understanding regarding the need to maintain a balance between what the nature has to supply and the demand of the human existence. 'The Earth provides enough for every man's need but not for every man's greed', the Minister quoted the Mahatma….

(Business Standard– March 27, 2017)

Climate change a challenge caused by human beings: Piyush Goyal

Power Minister Piyush Goyal today squarely held human beings responsible for the climate challenge, saying they can address it ultimately. “It is time that human beings understood that climate change is a challenge caused by humans only and ultimately it is humans who can address it,” Goyal said while addressing the World Conference on Environment 2017 here in a statement.

According to a power ministry statement, the minister said such conferences are very appropriate in the current scenario as these discussions help us come up with new ideas and bring back the focus on sensitive subjects like climate change.

Goyal observed that “we are living on this planet and using its resources as if we have another planet to go to later”....

(Indian Express– March 27, 2017)

ENERGY

Solar tariffs in India have fallen by 73% since 2010: Mercom Capital

Average solar tariffs in India have fallen by about 73% since 2010, almost in line with Chinese spot module prices, which have also fallen by about 80% in the same period, Mercom Capital Group said in a report on Friday.

Intense competition in reverse auctions for solar projects due to limited supply of projects has pushed companies to bid lower, sacrificing margins, in order to gain market share, the report said.

“Highly competitive reverse auctions, falling module and component prices, the introduction of solar parks, lower borrowing costs, and the entry of large power conglomerates with strong balance sheets and access to cheaper capital have all contributed to the dramatic fall in bids,” it said….

(Live Mint – March 24, 2017)

Renewables to be over 60% of India's generation capacity: 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.

He further said, "India's renewable energy programme is a great example of how you can do big by thinking big." Earlier this month, Goyal had predicted that India's solar power generation capacity will cross 20,000 mw in the next 15 months, from the current 10,000 MW, and said drastic reduction in costs of solar power is proof of maturity of the sector....

(Daily News and Analysis – March 24, 2017)

‘Cool Roofs’ initiative launched in Hyderabad

‘Cool roofs technology’ can help beat the summer heat, experts opined at a seminar here.

The Telangana government can set the trend by embracing the technology, said David Goldstein, co-director of Natural Resources Defense Council’s Energy Program of the US. He suggested that the government make cool roofs mandatory for all public buildings forthwith.

Rising temperatures

Speaking on ‘Cool Roofs – Technology, Policy and Implementation’, organised by Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), he suggested that the government could simultaneously design an incentive programme for slum-dwellers and low-income residents....

(Hindu Business Line – March 23, 2017)

India, China slow down coal expansion, says report

Cuts in coal-based power plants and a strong growth in renewable energy has caused a significant slowdown of coal expansion in Asian countries, particularly India and China, says a report.

In its third annual survey of the global coal plant pipeline, the report ‘Boom and Bust 2017: Tracking The Global Coal Plant Pipeline’ said 68 GW of construction in India and China is now frozen at over 100 project sites.

However, the survey also pointed to the ongoing over-investment in coal-fired power in India, potentially wasting vast amounts of capital....

(India.com– March 22, 2017)

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency to sanction Rs 13,000 cr 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.

“We have planned to sanction around Rs 13,000 crore credit to clean energy project developers in the country in next financial year, which would be around 20 per cent of the market share,” IREDA Chairman K S Popli told PTI. Popli also said that IREDA would be able to release around Rs 8,000 crore for these clean energy projects in country....

(Financial Express– March 26, 2017)

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND AIR POLLUTION

Railways will restore water bodies: Suresh Prabhu

The railways on Thursday unveiled a new water management policy which includes adoption of good green practices and reviving defunct water bodies.  

“In railways, there is large area of land in its jurisdiction, by virtue of it, large number of water bodies lies in its jurisdiction. Railways has taken steps to restore water bodies in each zone of Indian Railways and revived them. One such 200 years old water body was restored in South Central Railways. In this water policy, water audits, restoration of water bodies and recycling of water will be ensured,” railway minister Suresh Prabhu said….

(Asian Age– March 24, 2017)

Despite pollution, coal plant is cleared to reopen in New Delhi

The 43-year-old Badarpur Thermal Power Station, a coal-burning plant on the edge of what has been called the world’s most polluted city, New Delhi, was quietly cleared to resume pumping smoke into the air last week.

In Parliament, around the same time, India’s environment minister dismissed a major study of global air pollution that found that high levels of particles in India cause more than a million people to die prematurely each year. The report, he told Parliament, was based on “models, simulations and extrapolations.”...

(The New York Times– March 18, 2017)

63 million people living in rural India do not have access to clean water: Report

India has the maximum number of people—63 million—living in rural areas without access to clean water, according to a new global report released to mark World Water Day on Wednesday.

This is almost the population of the United Kingdom, said “Wild Water”, a report on the state of the world’s water.

Lack of government planning, competing demands, rising population and water-draining agricultural practices are all placing increasing strain on water, said the WaterAid’s report....

(Hindustan Times– March 21, 2017)

Compiled by Laasya Bhagavatula

Note: The linked articles and excerpts in this post are provided for informational purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the India Initiative or of the Natural Resources Defense Council.