A recent scientific discovery of polymetallic nodules producing “dark oxygen” at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean provides another reason why deep sea mining shouldn’t be allowed Read more
Most on-shore reserves of critical minerals are controlled by China. So, the idea of deep sea mining for critical minerals — which seeks to pluck these polymetallic nodules from the seabed — has been doing the rounds. Photo: The Metals Company
Deep-sea mining: Why it is time to sink this ship
A recent scientific discovery of polymetallic nodules producing “dark oxygen” at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean provides another reason why deep sea mining shouldn’t be allowed
This July, a scientific paper in Nature announced an extraordinary discovery. On the sea-bed of the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone, 13,000 feet below the sea’s surface, far beyond the reaches of sunlight, said the paper, metallic lumps have been splitting seawater to produce oxygen.
The paper hit headlines in no time. Until now, it has been assumed that photosynthesis — first by tiny microorganisms known as the archaeans and then by plants and trees — produced the oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere. Some of this oxygen, it was also thought, diffuses into oceans’ surface waters. And that, a part of it sinks down, all the way to the sea-bed, supporting life there.
The paper in Nature, titled “Evidence of dark oxygen production at the abyssal seafloor”, challenged each of these notions. Its authors had found higher oxygen levels — not lower — as they got closer to the seabed. Lab tests revealed micro-organisms were not at play, nor were geological or environmental factors. Instead, they found, oxygen is being produced by the lumps — or, as they are more formally known — polymetallic nodules.
The precise mechanics here are yet unknown. It’s conjectured that these nodules get charged as they grow, depositing different metals — like manganese and cobalt — irregularly over time. This creates a gradient in charge between each layer that results in electrical potential, which splits seawater to oxygen.
As discoveries go, this one raises large questions. Some of them, scientific — about the origins of life on the earth; and the deep sea ecosystems supported by the nodules. Others are more ecological in their scope. Given the new discovery, should these nodules be mined?
The nodules are in demand
The world is, as we know, in the throes of an renewables revolution and needs, among other things, critical minerals like lithium, cobalt and manganese.
Most on-shore reserves of these minerals, however, are controlled by China. And so, the idea of deep sea mining for critical minerals — which seeks to pluck these polymetallic nodules from the seabed — has been doing the rounds.
A clutch of countries and companies, as this page shows, are vying to harvest these nodules.
The construct here is familiar. The industry’s pronouncements are bullish. Take The Metal Company, probably the most high-profile deep-sea mining startup right now. According to its website, its seabed concession with the Republic of Nauru, potentially contains “enough metal to… supply battery metals for 140 million electric vehicles.” Between them, says the firm, its three concessions have “in situ quantities of these metals in quantities equivalent to the requirements for 280 million EVs, roughly the size of the entire US passenger vehicle fleet on the road today.”
The firm also insists that deep-sea mining is superior to land-based mining. “Unlike land ores, nodules do not contain toxic levels of heavy elements, and producing metals from nodules has the potential for us to productize nearly 100% of nodule mass and design a metallurgical flowsheet that generates no tailings and leaves nearly no solid waste streams behind.”
Nor is there, says its website, any accompanying deforestation. In all, it says, “polymetallic nodules are the cleanest path toward electric vehicles.”
These claims, however, have been challenged by critics of deep-sea mining. They claim firms might strip-mine seabeds, disturbing seafloor sediments, killing the species and the poorly understood ecosystems living in or on that layer of soil — with poorly understood fallouts for marine food webs, while potentially releasing the carbon stored in ocean sediments.
That is where things stood till July, when Nature published the paper, and challenged the assumption that polymetallic nodules are inert rocks lying on the seabed.
In reality, it said, they perform a core ecological function on the seabed.
A deeper question about impact
To survive, life needs energy. Much of the world we see around us lives off photosynthesis. Another world, the ancient one of the archaeans, can still be seen near hydrothermal vents.
Until now, it was thought that life could exist only in places that have photosynthesis or these vents.
The nodules change that. Their discovery suggests a third ecosystem, one which lives off the oxygen produced by these nodules. Even before the paper, these ecosystems were poorly understood. As much as 60% of deep-sea DNA sequence variants have not been placed in any known higher-level grouping, says Discover, the online magazine of the Natural History Museum. “The unknown DNA could represent entire lineages of marine life that have yet to be described.” Some of these lineages, it also adds, were found to be associated with the biological carbon pump, which transports vast amounts of atmospheric carbon in the deep sea. As these organisms die and sink to the bottom of the ocean, they take the carbon with them. This can be preserved permanently in the deep sea sediment, or eventually returned to the upper ocean. “Some of the unknown taxa seem to be involved in this process,” says the article.
The role of the nodules in supporting these taxa now needs to be understood. In the meantime, can our species risk deep sea mining?
Firms like The Metal Company say deep-sea mining poses minimal risks to the seafloor. All it will do, says its website, is “lift polymetallic nodules to the surface, take them to shore, and process them with near-zero solid waste, no tailings or deforestation, and with careful attention not to harm the integrity of the deep-ocean ecosystem.”
As this paper on the website of the International Seabed Authority says, deep-sea mining has made large progress in mining technology. In the seventies, the industry relied on suction dredges lowered to the sea bed to vacuum up nodules. The disturbance to sea floor sediments can be imagined.
That approach has since been junked in favour of more autonomous bottom collectors — vehicles that walk over the sea-bed collecting nodules. Other startups, like Impossible Metals, have created collectors that hover above the seafloor and pick up nodules through robotic arms.
These approaches, however, come with their own questions. Seabeds will get damaged as caterpillar-tracked vehicles range across it. And then, there is the de-oxygenating impact of nodule mining on the seafloor ecosystem. Even in the case of Impossible Metals, the latter point remains.
For now, The Metals Company has disputed the Nature paper. For its part, Impossible Metals says its “image-sensing technology will identify megafauna present on the nodules and leave those nodules untouched, preserving nodule-dependent fauna.”
Its response raises yet more questions. What about smaller species?
Just as consequentially, deep-sea miners are not working in an uncrowded market. They are competing not just amongst themselves, but also with on-land miners and critical mineral recyclers.
In such a landscape, the deep-sea miner, who can hoover up the most nodules at the lowest cost, will enjoy competitive advantage. This suggests a race to the bottom. Even that firm, however, might struggle to compete against open mines in Africa and elsewhere. Recall Cobalt Red and the opencast mines of the Congo it describes.
The Draft Red Herring Prospectus of The Metals Company alludes to this risk. “The battery metals production industry is capital intensive and competitive…. Chinese resources firms have… been able to produce minerals and/or process metals from land-based operations at relatively low costs due to domestic economic and regulatory factors, including less stringent environmental and governmental regulations and lower labour and benefit costs.”
Compounding matters, critical mineral prices are falling as battery makers innovate to reduce their dependance on rare minerals. Almost half of Tesla EVs produced in Q1 2022, for instance, had no nickel or cobalt in the batteries. Along the way, Nickel’s price has, as SP Global reported, “dropped 42.1% since the beginning of 2023, from $29,886/t on Jan. 2, 2023, to $17,290/t as of March 19.” On 6 February, its price also hit a three-year low of $15,660/t. For their part, The Metal Company and Impossible Metals said they would be viable even with Nickel prices below $10,000/t.
And yet, as this essay in Nautilus says, oceanic exploration is expensive — and often goes over budget. In this case, as private equity investor Victor Vescovo told Nautilus, miners will be operating complex machinery in corrosive salt water at near-freezing temperatures under thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch.
Add the costs of ecological restoration — the world really needs to stop seeing ecological damage as an externality — and effective costs climb higher yet. “One estimate suggests that it would cost $75 million to restore one hectare of seabed in the Darwin Mounds in the Northeast Atlantic,” writes ScienceDirect.
Finally, a regulatory code for overseeing deep-sea mining is not in place. The International Seabed Authority, a UN-affiliated body, is facing charges of election fraud — and accusations that it wants to allow mining even before environmental standards are finalised — as early as this year.
In all, fundamental questions remain unanswered. Should the world focus on developing deep-sea mining — the last frontier unsoiled by our species — or invest in technologies that do not need rare elements.
The ways of the world
There is irony here.
We have found out about the nodules around the same time we are looking to destroy them.
As things stand, Andrew Sweetman, a microbiologist who is the lead author of the Nature essay, made his breakthrough after a visit to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone on an environmental survey sponsored by The Metals Company.
We have been here before. Scientists warned about the risks from smoking but were pushed aside by Big Tobacco. They spoke about the perils of excessive emissions — but were marginalised by Big Oil and Big Coal. Closer home, ecologists have warned about pell mell infrastructure building in the Himalayas, to take one instance, or against building on floodplains, to take another instance, but were brushed aside as well.
What will happen with the nodules? Unlike climate change, where Big Oil actively suppressed information about the greenhouse effect, we know more about the nodules and their importance. At the same time, deep-sea mining is nowhere as influential an industry as big tobacco or oil. The industry is still in an experimental phase. In 2020, it was worth $650 million. In comparison, the oil industry was valued at $6,705 billion in 2023.
So can it get its way? If the experience of geo-engineering and small and modular reactors is anything to go by, even firms positing risky solutions can get support from states and investors.
The first is susceptible to anything that promises to reduce its problems. As for the second, given multi-stage funding, they can cash out well before the larger costs are felt — or the viability itself is established.
It makes one think. Profits — and markets — alone cannot fix the climate crisis. Multilateral governance has to step in.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a ‘red’ alert for several parts of the state.
“Exceptionally heavy” rainfall kills 28 people in Gujarat
Extreme rainfall and flooding in Gujarat has claimed 28 lives, the Hindustan Times reported. In Gujarat, authorities told the newspaper that “96 reservoirs were flowing above danger levels”, with the state receiving “nearly 100% of its average annual rainfall so far”. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a ‘red’ alert for several parts of the state.
The heavy rainfall in the region is due to the formation of an intense weather system caused by a deep depression over eastern Rajasthan and adjoining west Madhya Pradesh, which has moved towards Gujarat, the report said. The Indian Express reported that areas that received “exceptionally heavy rainfall” were in arid, desert districts in the two states of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
In Tripura, the death toll from flooding rose to 31, with “72,000 people still in 492 relief camps as their houses were washed away”, reported the Print.
Teesta hydropower station destroyed in landslide, the disaster-prone site was already under restoration
A major landslide destroyed the Teesta-V hydro power station of the state-owned NHPC Limited on August 20. The project was under restoration following the glacial outburst in October last year, which had caused significant damage.
Cracks have also developed along the Singtam-Dikchu road, rendering it inaccessible. NHPC said that the Teesta Basin Region has been subject to periodic natural subsidence and landslides during the ongoing monsoon season, which led to the landslide, reported the BS.
All residents have been evacuated and relocated to the NHPC guest house in Balutar, which has been designated as a relief camp. The Department of Mines and Geology has been directed to probe the landslide and provide recommendations for both short-term and long-term restoration efforts, DTE reported.
189 lakes in Himalayas “high risk” glacial lake outburst threat ?
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned that of the nearly 7,500 glacial lakes in the Indian Himalayas, 189 are high-risk lakes that require mitigation measures to prevent flooding.
HT reported that around 16 teams of officials from the NDMA, scientists and security officials have taken up expeditions to glaciers at an altitude of 4,500m and above to map the threat they could pose to populations downstream in the event of a glacial lake outburst.
The Centre approved the ₹150-crore National Glacial Lake Outburst Floods Risk Mitigation Programme (NGRMP) to conduct technical hazard assessments, and install automated weather and water-level monitoring stations (AWWS) and early warning systems (EWS) at the lakes and in downstream areas, the report said. The primary objective of this programme is to attempt lake-lowering measures to reduce the risk of glacial lake outburst (GLOF) from such lakes.
23 killed in floods in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, floods triggered by long-spells of monsoon rain and overflowing rivers have claimed 23 lives with around 1.24 million families stranded across 11 districts.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said flood conditions could persist if the monsoon rains continued, as water levels were receding very slowly, Reuters reported, adding that around 470,000 people have taken refuge in 3,500 shelters in the flood-hit districts, where around 650 medical teams are providing treatment, authorities said.
The World Bank Institute in 2015 estimated that 3.5 million people in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, were at risk of annual river flooding. Scientists attribute the exacerbation of such catastrophic events to climate change.
Global flooding incidents to rise by 49% by end of century, study warns
Incidents of flooding could increase by 49% between 2020 and 2100 if the world continues emitting greenhouse gasses in the name of development, new research found. The biggest increase in flooding incidence is projected to be around coastlines in tropical Africa and Asia, and in arid North Africa, the DTE reported.
The research published in Water Resources Research noted that the North Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts, as well as southeastern Asia and the Pacific Islands are likely to see the most pronounced effects.
The researchers said they hope industries will derive value from their model for a range of additional policy actions “such as protecting critical infrastructure from future flooding, helping insurers price premiums and meeting the requirements of climate regulations.” The study said that previously used flood maps based on computer models were not very accurate at simulating the behaviour of real floods.
Aug 28 was the last date to declare/register exotic animals, says environment ministry
The last date (for individuals, organisations and zoos) to declare and register exotic animals expired on August 28, the HT reported. The Union environment ministry said that according to these rules, every person who is in possession of any living specimen of species listed in Schedule IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, is required to report the details of such animals and submit an application for registration electronically through the PARIVESH 2.0 portal to the Chief WildLife Warden of the concerned state, within a period of six months from the issue of gazette notification and or within 30 days of possession of such animal species.
2015 Nepal quake and avalanche was exacerbated by climate variability and snowfall anomalies: Study
Climate change contributed to a deadly avalanche in Nepal in 2015 that was initially triggered by an earthquake, new research suggested. On 25 April, 2015, the Gorkha earthquake “triggered a large rock-ice avalanche and an air blast disaster in the Langtang Valley”, which saw 350 people killed or left missing, the authors explained. Reconstructing the event using field investigations and models, the researchers found that deep snow cover and high temperatures both contributed to the disaster. Specifically, “elevated air temperatures intensify meltwater production and lubricate the flowing mass”, the authors said, while “deep snow cover fosters the formation of a dispersed avalanche, which increases the mobility and destructive power of the powder cloud air blast”.
China reports record number of extreme floods this season
This year, China’s major rivers witnessed 25 significant flood events, the highest number since data collection began in 1998, Global Times reported. The flood season has been marked by frequent extreme weather events, with heavy rainfall and severe floods occurring across both northern and southern regions, officials with the Ministry of Water Resources said.
Wang Bao’en, Vice Minister of Water Resources, warned that China remains in its primary flood season, with significant challenges ahead. This year’s higher-than-usual cumulative rainfall was influenced by Typhoon Gaemi. The country saw a cumulative average rainfall of 183 mm, 10% higher than the annual average. Typhoon Gaemi dumped a total of 216.7 billion cubic metres of rainfall across the southern regions of the country, which is a significant 43% more than the 151.8 billion cubic metres brought by Typhoon Doksuri last year. Large-scale flooding occurred more frequently than the annual average, with some 30 rivers across the country exceeding historical flood levels.
Government has allowed distilleries to use B-heavy molasses, a byproduct with higher sucrose levels, for ethanol production.
India: Sugar mills allowed to produce ethanol from cane juice starting November
Government has permitted sugar mills to use sugarcane juice to produce ethanol starting November, Reuters reported. The world’s second-biggest sugar producer restricted diverting sugar for ethanol production in December 2023 to increase sugar output after cane crop was hit by below-average monsoon rains., the newswire said.
Government allowed distilleries to use B-heavy molasses, a byproduct with higher sucrose levels, for ethanol production, the government said in the notification. India also allowed distilleries to purchase up to 2.3 million metric tons of rice from the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) for ethanol production, the government said in a separate notification. India aims to increase ethanol production to blend 20% ethanol into gasoline by 2025-26, from around 13% now.
Police battalions in Assam’s forests may be regularised
The state government of Assam wants the centre to regularise its illegal diversion of forest land for commando battalions in the state’s Hailakandi and Geleky divisions. The HT reported the state government also appealed that MK Yadava, former principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), Assam, who allegedly allowed diversion of lands illegally, be condoned, and that imposition of all penal provisions on the official be withdrawn.
Centre’s Forest Advisory Committee considered the two contentious proposals on Tuesday, the newspaper reported, adding that these forests have already been diverted and most constructions have come up. In 2023, MK Yadava, the then principal chief conservator of forests and head of the forest force in Assam, approved the construction of these commando battalions without prior forest clearance under the Forest Conservation Amendment Act.
Power plant in forest land: Green court notice to Centre, UP govt and Adani
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) sent notices to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government, and Mirzapur Thermal Energy UP Private Limited, over violation of a 2016 order of the NGT, which prohibited construction on Mirzapur forest division’s forest land, the Wire reported.
The green court asked Mirzapur Thermal Energy – an Adani Group subsidiary – to respond to claims that it is illegally building a coal-fired power plant on forest land in Uttar Pradesh. The tribunal’s direction, on August 16, came on a plea by Debadityo Sinha, the founder of the Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation, reported the Scroll.
The outlet said Sinha told the court that Mirzapur Thermal Energy was “undertaking illegal construction activities at the site by clearing the vegetation and forest using massive earthwork and levelling the land”. NGT had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter after the Hindustan Times reported in July that the 1,600-megawatt power plant is being built in one of India’s last remaining habitats for endangered sloth bears, in the state’s Mirzapur Forest Division.
China downplays speculation of an early peak in carbon emissions?
Bloomberg reported that China’s top energy officials downplayed growing talk that China’s carbon emissions have already peaked years ahead of target, saying on Thursday that just meeting the goal on time still required “great efforts.”
The news outlet quoted Song Wen, director of China’s National Energy Administration’s (NEA) law and institutional reform department, saying at the launch of a report on the nation’s energy transition that “great efforts are still needed to achieve the goals of peak carbon and carbon neutrality”. The report said the comments “downplay growing speculation that the country’s carbon emissions have already peaked years ahead of target”. Song also tells reporters that, “while China is confident that it will achieve its goal of hitting peak emissions before 2030, domestic energy demand is still growing and the outlook is uncertain”.
Climate group takes EU to court over green labelling of planes and ships
Climate campaigners have taken the European Union to court over its inclusion of polluting planes and ships powered by fossil fuels in the bloc’s green investment rulebook, Climate Home reported.
The outlet said that the coalition of NGOs behind the lawsuit lodged at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said the European Commission should review “flawed” sustainable finance criteria for the aviation and shipping sectors in the EU Taxonomy, a guide designed to funnel private investment towards net zero-aligned activities.
The NGOs claim the EU acted unlawfully in late 2023 when it introduced “loose” rules allowing a green label to be put on fossil fuel-powered planes and ships if they meet “weak” efficiency standards.
“The aviation and shipping criteria send completely the wrong signal to investors – directing investments to planes and ships that will pollute the climate for decades to come,” David Kay told the outlet. Kay is the legal director at Opportunity Green, which filed the complaint alongside CLAW-Initiative for Climate Justice, Dryade and Dutch NGO Fossielvrij.
The report said even cars running on CNG, once considered a green alternative, on average emitted 1.5 times higher pollution than they were meant to.
Study: Emissions from vehicles running even on cleaner BS VI fuel 5-14 times higher
Emissions from vehicles using cleaner Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) grade fuel in Delhi and Gurugram, are significantly higher than what they are meant to be on paper, new research has found.
The study showed that some readings breached BS VI emissions standards by as much as 5-14.2 times for some types of goods vehicles and at least four times higher for taxis. Research pointed out that the emissions certifications system and its enforcement is woefully inadequate and that pollution control obligations may have remained only on paper, the HT reported.
The report said even cars running on CNG, once considered a green alternative, on average emitted 1.5 times higher pollution than they were meant to. CNG light goods vehicles were found to be the biggest emitter of NOx ((nitrous oxides), CO (carbon monoxide), hydrocarbon (HC), and particulate matter (PM) within the BS VI fleet in Delhi. Across all kinds of fleet and segments, BS IV CNG buses were the top pollutant.
Centre’s draft rule propose secretary-level officers to resolve air, water pollution complaints
The Centre released draft rules that propose appointing adducting officers to resolve complaints related to air and water pollution/ Centre proposes to appoint such officers in states and Union territories to dispose issues faster than court proceedings, the ET reported.
It will appoint adjudicating officers either on its own or on request by state govts and UT administrations from among their secretary-rank officers. The adjudicating officers may be provided with requisite manpower assistance, office space and technical assistance by the central govt/state govt/UT for discharging their duties.
The newspaper quoted government officials saying that individuals and organisations could appeal to the National Green Tribunal (green court) if they are not satisfied with the orders, including the penalty.
Punjab government failed to treat waste, fined ₹1,000 cr
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the Punjab government to pay ₹1,026 crore as environmental compensation for failing to manage legacy waste and untreated sewage.
In the order dated July 25, the NGT directed the Punjab chief secretary to deposit the amount with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) within a month and to submit a compliance report, DTE reported.
In September 2022, the green court slapped a fine of ₹2,180 crore on Punjab for failing to prevent the discharge of untreated sewage and manage solid waste properly. But the Punjab government has only deposited ₹100 crore so far, leading to further scrutiny by the green tribunal, officials familiar with the matter said, reported the HT.
Microplastics in sugar and salt: Green court serves notice to central pollution control board
The National Green Tribunal took suo motu cognisance of research by Toxic Links that found micro plastics in all sugar and salt samples and directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to file its response regarding salt and sugar brands in India that contain microplastics. The Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Indian Council of Medical Research and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India were also directed by the court to file their reply at least one week before the next date of hearing on December 3, 2024.
The news report related to a study that revealed the presence of microplastics in all Indian salt and sugar brands, in various forms, including fibre, pellets, films and fragments. The study tested 10 types of salt, including table salt, rock salt, sea salt and local raw salt, as well as five types of sugar purchased from both online and local markets. The highest levels of microplastics were found in iodised salt, in the form of multi-coloured thin fibre and films, the report indicated.
US city offers reusable cups with trackable QR code
The city of Petaluma in California launched a reusable plastic cup project that aims to cut down on rampant plastic waste. The new reusable cups bear the slogan “Sip, Return, Repeat”. Customers who need their lattes to go can take the purple cups with them, then return them to one of 60 bins scattered across downtown Petaluma when they’ve finished. Each cup comes with a trackable QR code to help monitor results, the Guardian reported.
According to the report, 30 businesses opted into the programme in downtown Petaluma, a wine country city about 40 miles (60km) north of San Francisco.
The residential sector’s contribution rose around ten-fold from the previous quarter, the report has found.
Residential rooftop solar capacity surges to 1.1 GW in first half of 2024
In the first 6 months of 2024 India added 1.1 GW of rooftop solar capacity, as per Marcom findings. This was a 26% increase from the 873 MW installed in the same period in 2023. The surge followed the announcement of PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. In Q2 2024, rooftop solar tenders totaling 533.6 MW were issued, about a 35% drop from 816.9 MW in Q1 2024 but a 259% increase from 148.6 MW in Q2 2023, Mercom reported,
The residential sector’s contribution rose around ten-fold from the previous quarter. Mercom pointed out that there was a critical need to maintain the quality of installations, particularly in the residential sector, where homeowners often lack the expertise to assess the quality of the installations. The outlet said the average cost of rooftop solar systems rose by over 12% QoQ, ending a six-quarter trend of declining prices, although costs were still down nearly 10% YoY.
As of June 2024, India’s cumulative installed rooftop solar capacity reached 11.6 GW. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Karnataka maintained top installed capacity.
Demand for household rooftop solar scheme spark solar inverter shortage
Government’s rooftop solar scheme announced in February 2024, is causing a shortage of string inverters (used to convert direct current of solar energy to usable alternative current), reported Mercom.
The demand has risen by 300% since the introduction of the scheme aimed at installing solar systems on the rooftops of 10 million households by 2026-27. The latest subsidy programme has seen a 170% increase in applications between February and June 2024, reaching 14.8 million by June, the report said.
The report said Indian players procure inverters from China and assemble them in India. The smaller 3.3 kW and 5.3 kW systems are moving fast. There is a slow supply from Chinese manufacturers, as deliveries take nearly 1.5-2 months to reach India. According to Mercom nearly 90% of components used in inverters are imported from China.
India to add 21.5 GW of new PV capacity in 2024: JMK Research
India is set to install about 21.5 GW of new solar capacity in 2024. About 16.5 GW will likely come from utility-scale PV installations, on top of 4 GW of rooftop solar and 1 GW of off-grid systems, says latest analyses by JMK Research.
The report by PV magazine said JMK Research expects higher installation activity, projecting about 6.9 GW of solar additions over the next two quarters. The JMK analysts said that approximately 110.6 GW of solar, wind, wind-solar hybrid, and storage projects are in the pipeline, with commissioning expected within the next four to five years. An additional 71.4 GW of projects are in the bidding phase, where tenders have been issued but auctions remain incomplete.
New entrant in ALMM, India adds 4 GW solar module capacity
The Centre expanded the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), adding 4,089 MW of new solar module capacity, reported Mercom. It added that the cumulative module manufacturing capacity under ALMM now stands at 54,706 MW.
New entrants included Avaada Electro, Laxmi Solar, Uratopm Solar accounting accounting for 554 MW, 121 MW, and 46 MW, respectively, the outlet said pointing out that Tata, Jakson Engineers and SASA Energy increased their enlisted capacity by 2,697 MW, 662 MW, and 9 MW, respectively.
Government also revised the ALMM guidelines for the inspection and final enlistment of provisionally listed manufacturers. According to the new rules, the final enlistment must be completed within two months of the application. If the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) has conducted the inspection but MNRE has not yet received the recommendation, the provisional enlistment will automatically become final after two months
The top seven cities in India account for over 94% of the country's installed data cantre (DC) capacity.
AI-led demand to add 500 MW to India’s data center capacity by 2026: Report
According to a report by Avendus Capital, the capacity of India’s data center (DC) market is predicted to rise by 500 MW over the next four years, signaling a considerable expansion of the business. According to the report, the demand for AI is expected to outpace the needs for traditional cloud computing due to the increase in AI workloads. One of the world’s fastest-growing markets, India’s DC capacity has already doubled, from around 540 MW in 2019 to over 1,011 MW in 2023. Over the next three years, the sector is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 26%, the report added. Sovereign wealth funds, long-term pension funds, and private equity firms are among the many investors drawn to this expansion. The top seven cities in India account for over 94% of the country’s installed DC capacity. Over the next five years, Mumbai is estimated to provide 40% of the increased capacity, with Chennai and Delhi contributing 25% and 15%, respectively. With Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities seeing increased data usage, smaller edge DCs are expected to see significant demand.
UP govt to set up e-mobility dashboard, mobile app to boost EV accelerator cell
The Uttar Pradesh government is creating a mobile app and web-based e-mobility dashboard for the EV Accelerator Cell, the Economic Times reported. The dashboard will provide a centralised platform for tracking and managing electric vehicle (EV) registrations throughout the state. The features of the mobile app and web-based e-mobility dashboard will include greater data visibility, enhanced monitoring, efficient administration, transparency, and public participation. To create an extensive database, the project would also incorporate data from the housing department, power corporation, transportation, urban development, and Uttar Pradesh Development Systems Corporation Ltd (UPDESCO).
AI could lower risks to critical mineral supplies: Study
A recent research published in Nature has found that AI could reduce risks associated with critical minerals mining and supply. AI may shorten the time it takes for mining ventures to move from exploration to extraction, the research said. Enhanced mineral mapping can be accomplished by using AI techniques such as remote sensing and drone-based photogrammetry to automate the process and more accurately identify places with higher potential for new deposits. AI could determine the length of the mine’s extraction cycle more precisely and has the potential to enhance drilling efficiency by forecasting rock fragmentation and providing real-time performance review. AI algorithms can also be applied to equipment selection to lower risk. AI can be utilised for equipment management and predictive maintenance once the mine is operating, which will reduce the need for repairs. The report added that AI algorithms have the potential to mitigate environmental risks and calamities related to energy mining, especially when it comes to a few critical minerals like cobalt and lithium.
Canada to tax Chinese EVs, including Teslas, at 100%
Canada said that it would apply a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicle imports and a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminium imports, following the lead of the US and the EU, Reuters reported. All EVs transported from China are subject to the duties, which would include Tesla vehicles. After Tesla began importing electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in Shanghai to Canada in 2023, the country’s largest port in Vancouver had a 460% increase in car imports from China annually, reaching 44,356. According to Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau, China’s deliberate, state-directed policy of overcapacity is the reason Ottawa is taking this action. On October 1, the tariffs will go into effect. Canada’s second-largest trading partner is China, after the US.
Ford shifts gears on its EV plans, BMW beats Tesla in European EV sales for first time
Ford Motor Company has reorientated its approach for electric vehicles, with a new emphasis on producing a new commercial van and two new electric pickup trucks, the Associated Press reported. Ford is reportedly losing millions on its existing EVs and has stated that because of the high cost of batteries, it will not be producing fully electric three-row SUVs and will instead concentrate on producing those cars as gas-electric hybrids.
According to market research company JATO Dynamics, BMW overtook American automaker Tesla to take the lead in the European battery electric vehicle (BEV) market for the first time. According to the research, Tesla witnessed a 16 percent decline in registrations last month, while BMW saw a 35 percent increase in sales from a year earlier.
₹1,000 crore Green Tug Transition Programme launched for a “green maritime sector”
The Centre has launched the Green Tug Transition Program (GTTP) to replace traditional harbour tugs that run on fuel with more environmentally friendly and sustainable options. A harbour tug is a type of vessel specially designed to offer the necessary support during the different manoeuvres carried out by other vessels or floating devices within the port. An investment of ₹1,000 crore will be needed, according to an official statement. The first phase of the GTTP will start on October 1, 2024, and will last until December 31, 2027. At least two green tugs will be purchased or rented by each of the four major ports— Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, Deendayal Port Authority, Paradip Port Authority, and V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority. The announcement also stated that as the sector develops, new cutting-edge green technologies including hybrid, methanol, and green hydrogen will be adopted. The first set of tugs will be battery-electric. Any new tug constructed in India after 2033 that is used in Indian ports must adhere to new norms, the official statement said.
Following Western nations' imposition of sanctions against Moscow and its curtailment of energy supplies, Indian refiners have increased the import of discounted Russian oil.
India overtakes China as the biggest importer of Russian oil globally in July
Based on a comparison of import data, India surpassed China as the world’s largest importer of Russian oil in July, the Economic Times reported. This happened as Chinese refiners reduced their purchases due to decreased fuel production profit margins. At 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd), Russian crude accounted for a record 44% of India’s total imports last month. According to data on Indian shipments obtained from trade and industry sources, this represented a 12% increase over a year ago and a 4.2% increase over June. According to Chinese customs data, that exceeded China’s 1.76 million barrels per day of oil imports from Russia through pipelines and ships in July. Following Western nations’ imposition of sanctions against Moscow and its curtailment of energy supplies, Indian refiners have increased the import of discounted Russian oil.
Falling battery and storage cost key to limit India’s coal capacity by 2032: Report
In order to maintain India’s coal generation until 2032, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) costs need to decrease by 7% per year, according to a collaborative study conducted by Ember and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). According to the report, if further reductions of 15% per year are made, India’s coal capacity could be limited to 260 gigawatts by 2032—matching the projections under the National Electricity Plan. A staged plan for India’s coal phase-down in the electricity sector is presented in the report. The expansion of coal generation will first slow down as renewable capacity increases, and then there will be a plateau where the cost-effectiveness of combining renewable energy with storage increases. Renewables and storage are predicted to eventually surpass current coal facilities in terms of competitiveness, the report said.
Chevron to set up tech centre in Bengaluru, invest ₹83 billion
A minister from the state government of Karnataka said that Chevron intends to invest ₹83 billion in Bengaluru, India. An Economic Times report said that this will be the oil and gas company’s largest tech center outside of the United States. Many engineering jobs would be created by Chevron’s proposed new research and development hub, according to a post made on social networking platform X by Karnataka Commerce, Industries, and Infrastructure Minister MB Patil. According to Akshay Sahni, the incoming head of Chevron India, the business plans to hire over 600 people by the end of 2025 and the billion-dollar investment will be distributed over five to six years, the report said.
Large polluters set eyes on esports industry for advertising: Report
A new report found that major polluters are now targeting the esports industry—which is popular with young people—for advertisements, the Guardian reported. These polluters are oil firms, petrostates, airlines, and automakers. Electronic sports, or esports, are competitive video games that spectators watch, with some of them reaching peak viewership numbers in the millions. Since 2017, the carbon-intensive corporations have entered into at least 33 significant arrangements with the growing industry, according to the campaign organisation Badvertising. The majority of the agreements, the researchers discovered, included automakers. Five more included fossil fuel corporations, three involved airlines, two involved petrostates, and two involved the US military.
Australia’s biggest lender to stop financing fossil fuel firms not complying with Paris goals
By the end of this year, the Commonwealth Bank, the biggest lender in Australia, will no longer finance fossil fuel firms that don’t adhere to the Paris Climate Agreement, the Guardian reported. CBA stated that clients would not be eligible for “new corporate or trade finance, or bond facilitation with a maturity beyond 31 December 2024” if they did not follow an emissions route that would keep global temperature increases to the “well below 2C goal of the Paris agreement.” According to its annual climate report, the bank established “core criteria” that included having a medium-term plan to reduce emissions by 2035 and a net-zero goal covering at least 95% of the carbon pollution from extraction and processing.
China cuts permits for new coal power plants by almost 80%: Greenpeace
In the first half of this year, China cut the number of permits for new plants by nearly 80%, according to Greenpeace East Asia, saying time would tell whether it was a turning point. Greenpeace examined project records and discovered that, from January to June, 14 new coal plants with a combined capacity of 10.3 gigawatts were passed. This was an 80% decrease from 50.4 gigawatts in the first half of previous year. Government approval of 90.7 gigawatts in 2022 and 106.4 gigawatts in 2023 caused concern amongst climate scientists. China boasts more solar and wind power installations than any other country in the world, but the government claims that because wind and solar electricity are not as dependable, coal plants are still required during times of high demand. Although China’s energy grid prioritises renewable energy sources, analysts are concerned that once the additional capacity is constructed, China may find it difficult to wean itself off of coal. Government meteorologists have cautioned that as a result of climate change, the nation needs to get ready for more extreme weather occurrences. In recent months, the government has released a ton of documents aimed at cutting carbon emissions and hastening the switch to renewable energy sources.
