First Solar to build 45 MW solar power projects in Telangana

First Solar to build 45 MW solar power projects in Telangana.

India Solar Water Pump Program

India Solar Water Pump Program.

Narendra Modis 247 power ambition: Why new government should focus on clean energy – Economic Times

Narendra Modis 247 power ambition: Why new government should focus on clean energy – Economic Times.

AAI to build solar power plants at 30 airports | Business Standard

AAI to build solar power plants at 30 airports | Business Standard.

Fossil fuel subsidies costing global economy $2 trillion: IMF

General Electric is expanding its renewable energy business as its Energy Financial Services unit has entered into a partnership with Welspun Renewables Energy to enlarge solar energy generation in India.

Power-sharing plan for cheaper solar energy, electricity bills

 State-run oil biggies are to tap solar power to light up the lives of one million school-going kids and help them shine in academics. The companies are to provide solarhome lighting systems so the children can study after dark without suffering the heat and toxic fumes of kerosene lamps. 

The project is to be implemented in districts with high consumption of kerosene on “area saturation” basis. Money would come from CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds, aggregating about Rs 1,000 crore a year. 

Data for the last census conducted in 2011 show 47% households using kerosene for lighting. The solar initiative is aimed at reducing use of kerosene for lighting purpose and prune subsidy. The companies had some years back funded cooking gas connections for Delhi’s poor to make the Capital kerosene-free city. 

India consumes about 59 million tonne of kerosene, a little less than diesel. But several studies have said nearly 40% of the poor man’s fuel sold through ration shops flows into the black market for adulteration due to subsidy, pegged at Rs 34.43 a litre at present. 

Sources said the chief executives of all the big oil firms – IndianOil, ONGC, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, GAIL, Oil India – and senior oil ministry officials discussed the plan earlier this month at the Petroleum and Planning Analysis Cell, the ministry’s data monitor. 

The idea originally came from the ministry of new and renewable energy which sought a role for the oil companies in its “million solar lights project being implemented with IIT-Bombay. The idea behind dovetailing the oil companies’ CSR is to bring down kerosene consumption and reduce subsidy outgo. 

The oil ministry’s economic division thinks solar lamps could replace kerosene as a lighting fuel. Two options for implementing the initiative are being weighed – either through IIT-Bombay as part of the existing project or a separate rollout by the companies. 

The project is part of the outgoing UPA-2 government’s efforts at ramping up solar power usage. But the project and liberal funding from oil companies – and subsequently even power companies– could come in handy for the outreach plan of the BJP if the party forms the next government at the Centre. The party’s manifesto stressed solar power as a key ingredient of ensuring India’s energy security.

Money would come from CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds, aggregating about Rs 1,000 crore a year.

 State-run oil biggies are to tap solar power to light up the lives of one million school-going kids and help them shine in academics. The companies are to provide solarhome lighting systems so the children can study after dark without suffering the heat and toxic fumes of kerosene lamps. 

The project is to be implemented in districts with high consumption of kerosene on “area saturation” basis. Money would come from CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds, aggregating about Rs 1,000 crore a year. 

Data for the last census conducted in 2011 show 47% households using kerosene for lighting. The solar initiative is aimed at reducing use of kerosene for lighting purpose and prune subsidy. The companies had some years back funded cooking gas connections for Delhi’s poor to make the Capital kerosene-free city. 

India consumes about 59 million tonne of kerosene, a little less than diesel. But several studies have said nearly 40% of the poor man’s fuel sold through ration shops flows into the black market for adulteration due to subsidy, pegged at Rs 34.43 a litre at present. 

Sources said the chief executives of all the big oil firms – IndianOil, ONGC, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, GAIL, Oil India – and senior oil ministry officials discussed the plan earlier this month at the Petroleum and Planning Analysis Cell, the ministry’s data monitor. 

The idea originally came from the ministry of new and renewable energy which sought a role for the oil companies in its “million solar lights project being implemented with IIT-Bombay. The idea behind dovetailing the oil companies’ CSR is to bring down kerosene consumption and reduce subsidy outgo. 

The oil ministry’s economic division thinks solar lamps could replace kerosene as a lighting fuel. Two options for implementing the initiative are being weighed – either through IIT-Bombay as part of the existing project or a separate rollout by the companies. 

The project is part of the outgoing UPA-2 government’s efforts at ramping up solar power usage. But the project and liberal funding from oil companies – and subsequently even power companies– could come in handy for the outreach plan of the BJP if the party forms the next government at the Centre. The party’s manifesto stressed solar power as a key ingredient of ensuring India’s energy security.

Startup launching solar ATMs in India

Vortex Engineering, an Indian start up, is rolling out solar-powered ATMs to facilitate banking in rural parts of India.

The ATMs use the same amount of energy as a conventional light bulb, and can operate without air conditioning is heat up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Vortex’s solar-powered ATMs emit at least 18,500 kg of CO2 each year, when compared to conventional ATMs.

“Our ATM is a customized solution to rural India’s unique problems where power is scarce, accessibility is poor, crisp notes are rare and the language and dialects vary. Yet, it a product that is scalable across geographies,” Kannan Lakshminarayan, co-founder and chief technology officer at Vortex Engineering, told CNBC.

“I have always been motivated by the social impact of work on society. Local problems need local solutions. When you import solutions, you can at best be only second rate,” says Lakshminarayan.

 

Su-Kam installs solar power systems in 10,000 households in Tamil Nadu

 Power back up solutions provider Su-Kam Power Systems has installed solar power systems in over 10,000 houses in seven districts of Tamil Nadu under the Chief Minister’s Solar Powered Green House Scheme, launched by TEDA ( Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency).

The company would be putting up 2,500 more such systems under this phase of the project by the end of May 2014, a statement from the company said.

Under the scheme, three lakh houses would be constructed with solar powered lighting systems over a period of five years from 2011-12 to 2015-16 for the benefit of the poor in rural areas, the statement said. 

 

“In addition to the above, TEDA has assigned us the project of installing solar power systems in 27,700 additional houses in the next phase of this project,” Ashish Sethi, VP-Solar projects, Su-Kam, said. These projects will come up in Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Madurai and Sivaganga districts.