Budget 2013: Waste-to-energy gets fund boost. Union Budget 2013 TNN Mar 1, 2013, 04.

03AM IST NEW DELHI: With the government throwing its weight behind waste-to-energy (WTE) plants in this year's Budget, a debate has started on the need for, and suitability of, such projects. Waste management across most parts of the country is in a mess and in cities like Delhi, where a WTE plant has been operating for more than a year, municipal agencies say it is the best way to manage waste. However, environmentalists say incineration is not a suitable technology for India. For the first time, the government has made a budgetary provision to encourage setting up of WTE plants. In his Budget speech, finance minister P Chidambaram said the government will support municipalities that implement waste-to-energy projects, through different instruments like viability gap funding, repayable grant and low-cost capital. While the three municipal corporations have welcomed the move, environmentalists say the technology is not sustainable in India. Sunita Narain, director of The Centre for Science and Environment, said Indian waste is not suitable for incineration as it is not properly segregated. WTE plants exist in Kanpur and Mumbai, besides Delhi. Experts say Kanpur has managed to deal extremely well with waste but India, with its massive population, needs to factor in the human cost of such technology. For each such plant, hundreds of rag pickers end up losing their jobs. On the flip side, municipal bodies say it is the most effective way to manage waste. Delhi has a functional 16MW plant at Okhla and one plant each will become operational in Ghazipur and Narela-Bawana by the yearend. Municipal agencies say the Centre's provision of viability gap funding-the government pays for the gap in recovering of capital cost-will encourage private players. "In metros, WTE plants are the only option to dispose of waste and yet earn from it. Municipalities don't have funds to pay upfront to bridge the gap between the capital cost incurred by the concessionaire and the recovery,'' said S S Yadav, commissioner, East Delhi Municipal Corporation. Delhi's three municipal corporations are planning to set up three more WTE plants. The South Corporation has already placed a request for land with Delhi Development Authority to set up two WTEs. The corporations are now focusing on streamlining waste collection and segregation, a lesson learnt from the Okhla plant project. There's poison in Ghaziabad air TNN Mar 3, 2013, 01.49AM IST GHAZIABAD: The air in Ghaziabad, even in relatively greener areas such as Indirapuram, Vaishali and Kaushambi, is nothing short of a poisonous cocktail. Prolonged exposure to the air in the city, among the top five 'most critically polluted cities' in the country, can lead to a number of respiratory diseases, most of which directly affect the lungs. Centre of Science Environment's (CSE) analysis of government data and Global Burden of Disease's report has revealed the catastrophic air pollution level in the city. In 2009, Ghaziabad was listed as the thirdmost polluted industrial city following a study of 88 industrial clusters by the Central Pollution Control Board. On the scale of comprehensive environmental pollution index (CEPI), Ghaziabad had recorded 87.37, which came down to 81.14 in 2011. For recording CEPI scores in excess of 80, Ghaziabad had been put in the category of 'critically polluted areas'. Lax enforcement behind heavy air pollution: Environmentalists at CSE said the treatment of Ghaziabad as a 'second rung' city, with lax environmental norms and enforcement, has resulted in the city's catastrophic air pollution levels. The city has one the highest levels of sulphur oxide and particulate matter in the country, both

of which can lead to fatal respiratory disease. One can have an acute attack of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Copd). It can also aggravate the conditions of those suffering from asthma,". According to WHO, Copd is an umbrella term used to describe a common disease that limits the air flow within the lungs. It gets detected late in life and is a chronic condition which can lead even to death. This January, the National Green Tribunal had ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to shut down 24 polluting units in Ghaziabad, out of which 15 did not meet prescribed air pollution norms. The tribunal had also ordered the UP Pollution Control Board to submit a list detailing all industrial units in Ghaziabad functioning in violation of the board's consent so that necessary action could be initiated against them. Gwalior and Raipur among the most polluted cities in India Rageshri Ganguly, TNN | Mar 11, 2013, 04.44 PM IST BHOPAL: In what can be termed as alarming, Gwalior and Raipur are the top five critically polluted cities in India in terms of particulate matter. These cities have well over three times the acceptable standards. The study has been released recently by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). According to the findings of the study released during the end of February, about 78% of the 180 cities surveyed exceed the (particulate matter) PM10 standard. 90 cities have critical levels of PM10. 26 have the most critical levels, exceeding the standard by over three times. Gwalior, Raipur, West Singhbhum, Ghaziabad and Delhi are the top five critically polluted cities. The state capital Bhopal and the other prominent cities of Madhya Pradesh like Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain and Satna are also among the most critically polluted cities surveyed in the country. Besides Raipur, in Chhattisgarh, Bhilai and Korba are among the critically polluted cities surveyed in terms of particulate matter. Double-trouble Particulates and NO2 (nitrogen dioxide): Among the cities that have high levels of NO2 and critical levels of PM10, Raipur figures prominently. Other cities in the list are Howrah, Barrackpore, Asansol, Durgapur, Sankrail, Raniganj, Kolkata (West Bengal), Badlapur and Ulhasnagar (Maharashtra) that have critical levels of NO2 and PM10. What is PM10? Particulate matter is the collective term used to describe very small solid, liquid or gaseous particles in the air. Some of these particles are big enough to be seen while others are so small that they are invisible to the human eye and small enough for us to inhale. A PM10 particle is less than 10 micrometres (9m) in size, or one fifth of the diameter of a human hair. PM10 comes from man-made sources such as burning coal, oil, wood and light fuel oil in domestic fires, motor vehicles and industrial processes. Natural sources of particles include sea salt, dust, pollens and volcanic activity. Effects on health from PM10 exposure Brain: Strokes Lungs: Inflammation, Respiratory problems, Reduced lung function, Chronic bronchitis, Lung cancer, Asthma Heart: Heart attacks, Cardiovascular issues, Increased heart rate Blood: High blood pressure, Reduced oxygen levels, Changes blood vessel structure, Increased blood thickness PM10 annual average Gwalior 308, West Singbhum 302, Ghaziabad 290, Raipur 289, Delhi 261

Solar Roadways: Infrastructure of the Future 15 Oct 2012Carin Hall What if roads and parking lots were solar, fueling enough energy from the sun to power nearby communities as well as electric vehicles? Here's a glimpse into the future: high maintenance, expensive concrete roads and parking lots turned into glossy solar surfaces, fueling enough energy from the sun to power nearby communities and the electric vehicles above them. According to inventors/creators of Solar Roadways, Scott and Julie Brusaw, sections of the road could be made out of solar cells to collect energy, which would more than pay for the cost of the panel. And what if LEDs were added beneath road lines for safer night time driving and heating elements were added to prevent snow/ice accumulation is northern climates? Those are questions the Solar Roadways project sought to answer under a 2009 Federal Highway Administration contract to build the first ever prototype. Thus far, the results have proved favorable and the company was awarded a follow-up 2-year Phase II $750,000 SBIR contract in 2011 to build a prototype parking lot. Is the surface safe for cars to drive on? Apparently, it's safer than concrete, which collects a slick sheen of oil on its surface over time. The hardness of glass falls between steel and stainless steel. It's also easier and faster to replace than cement. Each road panel is made of three basic layers. The road surface layer is translucent and rough enough to provide great traction, capable of handling today's heaviest loads under the absolute worst conditions. An electronics layer would control the heating element, lighting, communications and monitoring to create an intelligent highway system. The base plate layer would take the sun collected from the electronics layer and distribute it to homes and businesses connected to the roadway. A remarkable idea come to life, the Solar Roadway could very well become one of the greatest infrastructure innovations of the 21st century. It's time to upgrade.

Solar canals
Similar to the concept of the solar roadway, India is now building solar canals. By covering the waterways with solar panels, the project not only creates energy, but also helps to prevent water loss through evaporation, while at the same time saving space and money.

Solar bridge over canals to bridge power gap in Punjab

Power-Starved Punjab scripted a sunshine story on Wednesday by giving nod to a 1-MW project that will use the space above canals to generate solar power. First-of-its-kind project outside the US, it will be based on the design of Golden Gate in California, which uses triple galvanised cables. The project will have a bridge of solar panels above the canals. The man who owns patent for the technology swears by the canal network of the state. Steven Conger, founder of USA's P4P (Power for People) Energy Pvt Ltd, which is bringing the technology to Punjab, told

The Indian Express that the over 14,000-km canal and distribution system will be able to address all power problems in the state.

Now, Gujarat to cover Narmada canals with solar panels, The hindu business line Gandhinagar, April 23: Close on heels of commencing use of wastelands in northern districts and rooftops in towns and cities, Gujarat is set to potentially use the existing 19,000 km-long network of Narmada canals across the State for setting up solar panels to generate power. The Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the first of a series of this project, known as Canal Solar Power Project, when he launches a 1 megawatt (mw) pilot project, which is already commissioned, on Narmada branch canal near Chandrasan village of Kadi taluka in Mehsana district on Tuesday. Last week, he inaugurated a 600-MW solar power project spread across 11 districts. This included a 214MW Solar Power Park, the largest such generation centre at a single location in Asia. Also, Azure Power, leading independent power producer in solar sector, announced a 2.5 MW rooftops project in Gandhinagar. Gujarat, which invests nearly Rs 2,000 crore an year on renewable energy, has attracted investments of Rs 9,000 crore so far on solar energy projects. The pilot project has been developed on a 750-m stretch of the canal by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL) with support from Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), which owns and maintains the canal network.