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Electric Cars and Renewables Not Enough to Meet Paris Climate Goal: Consultant

The cost of electric vehicles (EVs) will fall to match those running on combustion engines by 2022, a key trigger that will mean by 2035 half of all passenger vehicles sold globally will be electric, according to the head of a top energy consultancy. But this expected exponential rise in cleaner vehicles, coupled with booming renewable energy production, will not be enough to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting climate warming, Ditlev Engel, chief executive of DNV GL's energy consulting business, told Reuters in an interview. He said, on current projections, the world would not achieve the goal of limiting the earth's warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius by 2050, as pledged in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Developed Nations Need to do More to Tackle Climate Change

Swiss President Mrs. Doris Leuthard stressed the need for the industrialised and developed nations to do more to tackle climate change. She said that climate change was a slow process and was talked about only when tragedies occur. The Swiss president also emphasised on investing in new technologies that could lead to solutions in stabilising the situation. “We have only one planet and (in view of) the increase in the temperature worldwide, we should have 2.8 planets. We must act very fast and do more to come from 2.8 planets to one planet,” Mrs. Leuthard said.

On power generation in her country, Leutard said Switzerland stopped using coal in the 1960s and moved to nuclear energy. She, however, said the cost of building new nuclear power plants has risen exponentially and so has the concern of storing the waste generated from these plants. Switzerland has, therefore, stopped building new atomic power plants, the Swiss president added.

Electrifying Transportation in India

Six leading car makers are eyeing the government’s plan to buy 10,000 electric vehicles, while policy makers are considering generous fiscal incentives to make their capital and running cost cheaper than petrol cars within five years. Broadly, the aim is to put on roads 10 lacs electric three-wheelers and 10,000 electric city buses by mid-2019 and make India the world leader in at least some segments of the market as the country strives to shift entirely to battery-powered transportation by 2030. The government is also considering fiscal incentives for e-vehicles. The tender to buy 10,000 e-vehicles has already attracted Tata Motors, Hyundai, Nissan, Renault, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Apart from e-vehicles, bids have also been invited for 4,000 chargers in the national capital region, to make it convenient to operate e-vehicles. Officials said the government also plans to invite bids for 50,000 electric three-wheelers by the end of this year, and to float another tender for battery-powered buses next year. Principal Advisor in the Ministry of Power and New and Renewable Energy Mr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, who is spearheading the drive towards e-mobility, said the intent is to scale up early and take global leadership.

PPA Renegotiation by Discoms may Adversely Impact RE sector growth: ICRA

Recent attempts by state-owned power distribution utilities (discoms) in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh to renegotiate or cancel signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with wind and solar power developers could have an adverse impact on the renewable energy (RE) sector, credit ratings agency ICRA has said. If implemented, the renegotiation could also impact the credit profile of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and investment interest from the private sector, the agency said.

Mr. Raj Kumar Singh Hon. Minister for Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Mr. Raj Kumar Singh is now the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Power and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Mr. Singh is a Member of Parliament from Arrah, Bihar. He is the IAS (Retired) from 1975 batch and former Union Home Secretary. Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) heartily welcomes Shri Raj Kumar Singh and extends all support and cooperation.

India’s Fastest-Growing Clean Energy Sector Hits an Air Pocket

2018 could be the worst year for new wind installations in more than a decade in India. At the centre of the issue is the government’s decision to introduce competitive bidding for wind projects instead of offering a feed-in-tariff, which is creating uncertainty in the industry, with developers and industry representatives saying the government has been slow to release capacity. Turbine manufacturers in India have the capacity to produce 12GW of turbines and were hoping this year to deliver 6 GW in orders. With scarce fresh employment opportunities in India, manpower cuts in the wind manufacturing sector adds to pressure on the PM to fulfill his 10-million-jobs-a-year campaign pledge with less than two years to go before he faces re-election.

China, India Best Bets for Green Energy Investors

China and India can see renewable energy as a path to reduce poverty, according to the report by Bloomberg. Regulatory changes will also play a role in determining the industries investors can tap into to fight climate change. Countries like China and India can see renewable energy as a path to reduce poverty, create jobs and improve energy security and social stability, according to the report.

Spike in Spot Power Prices, Coal Shortage

The situation arose even as the country boasts of electricity generation capacity double than its demand and excess coal availability. The average spot power tariff on the Indian Energy Exchange during second week of September 2017 peaked as much as Rs 9.90 per unit as state governments shut their inefficient projects to cut costs and drew power from an exchange.

Electric is the Future’ for German Car Majors

The Volkswagen Group, Daimler Group and BMW Group have committed investments in excess of 50 billion Euros to develop electric cars (EVs). Experts said the EV drive is the need of the hour also because car makers in Europe have to meet stringent corporate average fuel economy norms by 2021. German auto component maker Bosch estimates about 25% of the world’s cars will be electrified by 2030 while a vast chunk of vehicles will still run on conventional internal combustion engines.

Maruti Suzuki Decides to Make Electric Vehicles

The Japanese automaker had once showcased an all-electric version of Swift (called Swift REEV or Range Extender) around 2010. Suzuki will use the country as a key global manufacturing base to make electric cars at its factory in Gujarat for India and the world. It will also be the first commercially-available electric car for Suzuki.

India to See More Investments Coming From Japan

Japan has given a loan of Rs 88,000 crore at 0.1 per cent interest for the Rs 1.10 lakh crore bullet train project. The Japanese investment in India will continue to rise as the East Asian country is keen to expand offshore investments to generate opportunities for its construction and engineering firms, according to BMI Research. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi along with his Japanese counterpart Mr. Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for country's first bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Japan is the largest foreign investor in India's infrastructure market by the number of projects, with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) involved in USD 1.7 billion worth of projects in 2016.

Andhra Pradesh Aims to Increase Share of RE to 50 to 60% by 2029

Speaking at the function of the two-day Regional Conference on Environment organised by National Green Tribunal (NGT), Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board and Telangana State Pollution Control Board Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri N Chandrababu Naidu advocated the use of renewable energy and said the contribution of renewable energy will be increased to 50 to 60 per cent by 2029. At present, the share of renewable energy was around 25 per cent.

PM Launches Saubhagya Yojana to Ensure Power For All by March 2019

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) on 25th September 2017 at Deendayal Urja Bhawayn, the new corporate office of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Under Saubhagya, the government plans to ensure electrification of all households in the country in rural as well as urban areas at a cost of Rs 16,320 crore with the central government providing a gross budgetary support of Rs 12,320 crore.

Under the scheme, states and union territories are expected to complete total electrification in their respective states by 31 March 2019. The scheme will be funded 60 per cent by the central government (85 per cent of special category states), 10 per cent by states (five per cent for special category states) and 31 per cent by loans through banks (10 per cent for special category states).

Also, the government plans to provide free electricity connections identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. Un-electrified households not covered under SECC data would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on the payment of Rs 500 which will be recovered by DISCOMs in ten instalments through electricity bill.

India has Limited Fossil Fuels

Renewable energy is the only way for a country like India with the population as large as 1.25 billion that has finite fossil fuels to cater to the needs of all, said Shri Anand Kumar, Secretary Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. However, asserting the fact that India is determined to achieve the target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, Kumar said that advancements in technology and dropping prices of solar and wind, the country can even surpass the target.

India Records Highest-Ever RE Generation

In June 2017, India generated 10.2 Billion Units (BUs) of electricity from green energy sources including solar, wind, biomass and small hydro -- 26 per cent more than 8.1 BUs of renewable energy generated in the same month last year and 17 per cent more than 8.6 BUs generated in the previous month (May 2017), research and ratings agency India Ratings said in a report.

Himachal First Hill State in India to Run Electric Buses

Himachal Roads Transport Corporation (HRTC) has launched its electric bus service on the route on a regular basis being the first hill state in India to run electric buses having charging points at Manali and Marhi. 50 more buses will be added to the existing fleet of conventional buses and will bring more electric vehicles in next 10 years.

India will Work Above, Beyond Paris Agreement: Ms. Sushma Swaraj

At a meeting of select leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Session, External Affairs Minister Ms. Sushma Swaraj said India understood its responsibility towards Mother Earth and India will work above and beyond the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Our commitment is for the future generations.

India will Stick to Plan of Having 100% Electric Mobility by 2030: Mr. Nitin Gadkari

Road Transport and Highways Minister Mr. Nitin Gadkari has said that India will stick to its plan of having 100% electric mobility by 2030 and that he has cleared the electric vehicle policy. Now NITI Aayog will send it to the cabinet. The auto industry had cited high cost of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles as one of the major challenges. But the minister said the prices were coming down and India would stick to its plan.

Draft Guideline for Offshore Wind Power Assessment Studies and Surveys

With a view to develop offshore wind power in the country, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has notified National Offshore Wind Energy Policy in October, 2015 (available at http://mnre.gov.in/file-manager/UserFiles/National-Offshore-Wind-Energy-Policy-Gazzette-notification.pdf). Accordingly, with a view to encourage private participation in offshore studies and surveys, the draft guideline for Offshore Wind Power Assessment Studies and Surveys by Private Players have been prepared and being placed on the website of the Ministry for comments/suggestions/views of the stakeholders by 6th October, 2017.

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