Cement Energy and Environment

a..._.ncOirecticMI The solar panels will be set up by third parties, which will sell by third parties, which will sell power at these prices in the two states and two Union Territories. The Solar Energy Corporation of India, a government-owned company that has the mandate to develop the renewable energy sector, had sought bids for setting up 200 MW of solar panels on rooftops in the country to sell power to residents of buildings . Bids in Himachal and Uttarakhand and the Union Territories of Chandigarh and Puducherry were the cheapest, while they were the costliest in Gujarat. "The bidders have been able to quote such low prices because the government has decided to offer subsidy to special category states," a senior power sector official said. The subsidy is to the extent of ·. 52.5 per watt of installed capacity for the special category states, including the four regions , the official said. The electricity generated from rooftop solar panels in these four regions would cost less than the power sold by the respective state distribution companies . The highest tariff of Rs 6.12 per unit was quoted for Gujarat, followed by Rs 5.92 per unit for Chhattisgarh and Rs 5.55 per unit for Tamil Nadu. These are general category states where the subsidy on installation has been fixed at Rs 22.5 a watt. Among general category states, the lowest bid was Rs 4.46 per unit for Maharashtra.· The government plans to set up 18 MW of solar rooftop capacity in Uttar Pradesh , the largest state, where the lowest tariff inclusive of subsidy was quoted at Rs 5.47 per unit. According to ICRA, the rate of return for a bidder in this model depends on tariff, capital cost and capacity utilisation . "Implementation of such projects by the bidders within a stipulated timeline 12 months from date of allocation remains critical , given the clause of liquidated damage for delay," said Sabyasachi Mazumdar, senior vice president at f ICRA. "Further, the ability to maintain the operating performance within the stipulated parameters ~ remains crucial for the bidder, both for recovery of subsidy as well as the performance bank guarantee from SECI." Courtesy: The Economic Times, 19.10.2016, Pg. No. 14 GREEN INITIATIVES GET THE MUCH-NEEDED SUPPORT Under the Make in India initiative, a number of eco-friendly ways of disposing waste have been devised. Using such innovations can help the country provide diseases-free environment to their population. The main hurdle for solid waste management projects in low and middle income countries often is not about technology or process implementation but financing of the waste management infrastructure. BASIC SANITATION TO ALL The Swachh Bharath Abhiyaan aims to provide access to basic sanitation to all citizens of the country. Apart from this, it also aims at achieving 100% coverage for waste collection and processing in 4041 towns and cities across India for a population of about 306 million by October 2nd, 2019 which marks the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.This initiative has been one of the top priorities of the government and has gained high popularity. During the national budget allocation for FY 2015-16, the government enabled the provision to implement a tax of up to 2% on all or certain services to fund the Clean India initiative and on November 15, 2015, a tax of 0.5% on all taxable services was officially notified. An interesting and innovative step has been taken by the Pune Municipal Corporation. It has launched mobile toilets exclusively for women by modifying old buses that were to be discontinued. Called 'Ti' toilets, this novel project was conceptualized by municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar and implemented in association with their CSR partner Indus Towers Limited and 3S.These toilets are eco-friendly and use solar energy for its electrical needs. 58 .- t