Here is an ongoing chronological summary of short news stories of January 2022 and December 2021. These news items have not been covered independently elsewhere on this portal.
TK Elevator, in a release, said that has been bestowed with the first prize in Industry general category for exhibiting excellence in the arena of Energy Conservation and Management by Maharashtra State Energy Development Agency (MEDA). This award has been conferred on TK Elevator for its exemplary efforts in promoting efficient utilization, management and conservation of energy. Some of the important energy conservation initiatives that played a pivotal role in TK Elevator winning this award are- Its solar plant at MPF (Multi-Purpose Facility) in Chakan, Pune generating 821-kw green energy thereby meeting 66 per cent of its energy requirements; significant reduction in Co2 emission by 771 tonnes/year; similarly reduction in electrical specific energy consumption by 41 per cent and thermal specific energy consumption (PNG) by 31 per cent. (January 25, 2022)
Vertiv, in an official release, has announced the appointment of TechnoBind as Vertiv’s National Value Added Distributor in India. This partnership was formed to help Vertiv expand its network of channel partners and establish a stronger foothold in the Indian market. The association with TechnoBind paves the way for Vertiv to be one step closer to its channel, partners and customers, and strengthens the brand’s commitment to supporting them with its extensive portfolio of IT solutions, including racks, rack power distribution units (rPDU), KVM, integrated data centre, IT management, and IT infrastructure. (January 24, 2022)
Schneider Electric has earned its place in the top ranks of Corporate Knights’ annual Global 100 list of most sustainable corporations, for the 11th time. The Canadian media and research company examines over 6,900 companies worldwide every year to determine the top 1 per cent most sustainable corporations. Schneider Electric has featured on Corporate Knights’ Global 100 every year since 2012, making it to the top spot in 2021, and fourth this year. This performance is thanks to Schneider’s integration of sustainability into its business strategy. In 2021, Schneider Electric reinforced its sustainability consulting business to support more partners and customers in their own sustainable transformation. The Global 100 methodology is based on 23 key performance indicators, with 50 per cent of the weight of scores assigned to a company’s share of Clean Revenues and Investment. [January 19, 2022]
Best Power Equipments (India) Pvt Ltd has appointed Munesh Nanik Shahdadpuri as Senior Sales Engineer & Marketing, BPE Indonesia. As a part of BPE’s end-to-end strategic power solutions business in Eastern Asia Pacific, Munesh will be focusing on scaling the operations and will play an active role in boosting the brand’s image with focus on corporates around potential markets of Indonesia, Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries. His experience includes working around the power manufacturing industries for over 15+ years in Indonesia. His past achievements in the field of sales make Munesh an accomplished, results-driven sales engineer & marketing head. Throughout his illustrious career, he has led various large and critical change management processes for various groups he worked with. [January 19, 2022]
SJVN Ltd has signed an MoU with Infrastructure Development Corporation, (Karnataka) Ltd (iDeCK) for providing consultancy services in renewable energy sector. SJVN and iDeCK will collaborate for the purpose of providing consultancy services for development of solar, wind, hybrid, battery storage energy projects, etc. The two partners will explore to identify potential consumers for purchase of power from various aforementioned projects and conduct due diligence on land title/leasing arrangements besides providing assistance in obtaining clearances for land, provide assistance in obtaining project related approvals and also provide technical consultancy, etc. [January 8, 2022]
ReNew Energy Global Plc announced that India Clean Energy Holdings, a Mauritian entity, and a wholly owned subsidiary of ReNew Energy Global Plc (the parent company of ReNew Power Pvt Ltd), has raised $400 million at 4.5 per cent by issuing senior secured dollar notes. These Green Bonds have a tenor of 5.25 years. These notes were subscribed to by US-, Asia- and EMEA-based investors. So far the company, through its subsidiaries, has raised in excess of $3.5 billion across eight such issuances. The amount raised would be used by ReNew’s subsidiaries to refinance existing high-cost debt, fund capital expenditure in renewable energy assets, etc. [January 8, 2022]
Tata Power has secured the highest score among its peers in the Indian power sector in S&P Global’s recently released Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) results. Tata Power has fared well on all ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) parameters, with a score of 67 out of 100—significantly higher than the average world electric utility sector (comprising both Indian and global electric utilities) score of 38. The S&P Global CSA is an annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices since 1999 and has been a credible reflection of companies’ sustainability practices. In this assessment over 10,000 companies from around the world were evaluated on industry-specific and financially material issues. [January 7, 2022]
NTPC, according to reliable media reports, is planning to acquire 5 per cent equity stake in Power Exchange of India Ltd (PXIL). Incorporated in 2008, PXIL is India’s first institutionally promoted energy exchange has been providing various electricity trading solutions and connecting buyers and sellers. It is further learnt that NTPC cannot subscribe to more than 5 per cent equity in PXIL as the Central PSU generator is a potential participant (buyer or seller) on PXIL. [January 3, 2022]
Amara Raja Batteries Ltd has announced plans to invest in InoBat Auto, a European technology developer and manufacturer of premium innovative batteries for e-mobility. The initial investment will give Amara Raja a key foothold in the thriving European EV ecosystem, where multiple battery gigafactories are being set up to support the region’s determined EV push, including in the UK, which is seeing a rising need to address increasing demand for electric vehicles, ARBL said in a media release. [December 29, 2021]
Sterlite Brazil Participações S.A., a subsidiary of Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd has won “Lot 2” in the transmission auction (No. 002/2021), promoted on December 17, 2021 by the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL), at B3, in São Paulo. The Annual Permitted Revenue (RAP) of the project is around $1.3 million. Five enterprises lots were auctioned. Lot 2 is in the state of Bahia and consists in the construction of a substation in the city of Olindina. Currently, Sterlite Brazil has five projects in progress in the country. [December 27, 2021]
Havells India Ltd recently showcased its industry-first ‘Industry 4.0’manufacturing plant for Lloyd air-conditioners (AC) in Ghiloth, Rajasthan. Diversifying its manufacturing prowess further, the company has now entered washing machine (WM) production at the same location in Ghiloth where the AC plant is located. The washing machine plant was inaugurated by Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog. Spread over 50 acres at Ghiloth, the greenfield WM unit will significantly strengthen Lloyd’s WM production capacity with a targeted output of3 lakh units annually. With the enhanced manufacturing capacity, Lloyd is poised to have around 20 models of WMs and 50 SKUs of ACs in 2022. The manufacturing plant has best-in-class machinery from Japan, Korea and Italy and is equipped with advanced robotic machines and automated guided vehicles and a fully integrated material management system. The plant also has a Management Execution System (MES) from Dassault, France to help real-time monitoring of processes. [December 23, 2021]
iCreate, India’s leading startup incubator has facilitated a partnership between its supported start-up CHARGE+ZONE, a technology-driven EV charging networks company and the Government of Gujarat, for a $300-million (Rs.2,250 crore) investment, in an endeavour to set up a network of un-manned, app-driven 10,000 charging stations within Gujarat on national and state highways, and scale it up to 50,000+ charging stations nationwide. The MoU also aims to electrify 10,000 km of national and state highways in the next 3-5 years with super-fast charging stations. [December 20, 2021]
NTPC has received a letter of appreciation from Ms. Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and UN-Energy Co-Chair, for its efforts and commitments towards the process of Energy Compact. In the letter UN-Energy has acknowledged the commitment of NTPC towards clean energy and welcomed NTPC to into the Energy Compact Action Network, a release from NTPC said. NTPC submitted its plans towards Energy Compact which outlines ambitious goals by 2030. NTPC’s leadership will contribute significantly towards the achievement of SDG7. NTPC’s entry into the Energy Compact Action Network makes it an important representative of the Energy Compact process, the release said. [December 17, 2021]
NTPC, in a regulatory filing, said that it has decided to issue unsecured non-convertible debentures (NCD) of Rs.1,175 crore on December 20, 2021, through private placement. The coupon rate on the NCDs will be 6.74 per cent, with a door-to-door maturity of 10 years, 3 months and 25 days. Proceeds of the debentures, due to mature on April 14, 2032, will be used, inter alia, for funding of capital expenditure, refinancing of existing loans and other general corporate purposes, NTPC said. [December 17, 2021]
Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has signed an agreement to lend Rs.275 crore for deployment of 350 electric buses across nine cities of Uttar Pradesh, which include Agra, Meerut, Aligarh, Bareilly, Ghaziabad and Mathura. The agreement was signed with GreenCell Mobility, which is an e-mobility platform supported by Governments of India and United Kingdom to boost adoption of electric vehicles in the country. The government of India has launched FAME-II scheme with an allocation of Rs.3,500 crore for promotion of adoption of electric buses. [December 16, 2021]
Best Power Equipments (India) Pvt Ltd (BPE) has recognized as the leading front under the Power Management and Data Centre Solutions. Awarded with the “Times Business Icon Award” for 2021, the brand received recognition for its exemplary commitment to the industry, a release from BPE said. With an aim to honour the businesses that have not just survived but also seen a revival and thrived during the challenging times caused by the pandemic, the Times Business Awards 2021 was all about honouring the innovators and celebrating the essence of their excellence. Commenting on this achievement, Amitansu Satpathy, Managing Director, Best Power Equipments said, “This recognition will further strengthen our zeal to come up with the best of our business excellence.” [December 13, 2021]
Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), has planned to distribute LED bulbs at highly subsidized rates on December 14, 2021, to mark “National Energy Conservation Day”. Under this initiative, LED bulbs of 7W or 12W will be distributed at Rs.10 per piece, in over 2,500 villages spread over five states – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. These bulbs will come with a guarantee of three years and will be distributed against submission of working incandescent bulbs. [December 11, 2021]
TK Elevator has received an impressive score on climate protection from the rating organization CDP. For the second time in a row, the company was rated “A” in the world’s largest climate ranking. TK Elevator has set itself ambitious sustainability targets: The company strives to become climate-neutral by 2050 at the latest and thus supports the “Business Ambition for 1.5°C” initiative, which is based on the Paris Agreement goals. TK Elevator has been participating in the CDP reporting since becoming independent in 2020, providing relevant interest groups with transparent information about its climate protection strategy and measures to reduce CO2 emissions. CDP Climate Scores are awarded annually on a scale from “A” (best result) to “D”. [December 8, 2021]
Ivanti, the provider of the Ivanti Neurons automation platform that discovers, manages, secures, and services IT assets from cloud to edge, today announced that it was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Service Management, Q4 2021 report. The report evaluated 15 select vendors based on a comprehensive set of 22 evaluation criteria in the categories of current offering, strategy, and market presence. Of the providers evaluated, Ivanti was one of only five Leaders. Ivanti earned the highest possible scores in the Product Vision, Innovation Roadmap, Execution roadmap and Supporting Products and Services criteria. The report cited, “Overall, Ivanti provides a well-rounded IT management solution that is increasingly proactive, with inroads into new ESM use cases.” [December 8, 2021]
Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL) has announced the appointment of Ms Lisa MacCallum, as an independent director to bring a new level of knowledge and experience to ATL’s environment and social impact investments and purpose-led governance and business. MacCallum becomes the first non-Indian national director of ATL and second female director to join the ATL board, a company release said. [December 6, 2021]
Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd has received Letter of Award (‘LoA’) from Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) to build a 100-MW EPC solar project along with 120 MWh utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS). The total contract value of the project is around Rs.945 crore, with completion period of 18 months. SECI project sites are located in Chhattisgarh. The order scope includes engineering, design, supply, construction, erection, testing, O&M and commissioning of the projects. The utility scale EPC order book of Tata Power Solar now stands at 4.4 GW (DC) capacity, valued at around Rs.9,000 crore. Meanwhile, Tata Power Solar is already executing a 50-MW solar project with of 50 MWh battery storage at Leh, UT of Ladakh. [December 2, 2021]
