1. A new hurricane-resistant floating solar farm could help replace fossil fuel: FLOATING STRUCTURES
A new solar power platform is making waves in the way we think about renewable energy, advancing a novel form of offshore floating arrays. Called the \”Demonstrator,\” the platform was recently towed upriver in the Netherlands to simulate some of the wind and water stresses of being out at the open sea, and it passed with flying colors.
While the ideal environs for SolarDuck\’s creation are cities and islands near the equator (where there\’s less wind for wind power), the next Demonstrator variant \”can withstand hurricane forces\” experienced in and around Bermuda and Florida, explained CTO Don Hoogendoorn of SolarDuck, in a video interview with Interesting Engineering.
Source: Interesting Engineering
2. Waterways are set to be the new highways in our future: NAREDCO President : INLAND WATERWAYS
If we were to say transportation is to the country what blood circulation is to the body, it would not be an exaggeration. Transportation has always played an important role when it comes to the development of the country. Given its diverse topography, India enjoys a plethora of transportation to choose from. Inland waterways are one of the options, the least developed so far.
Source: The Free Press Journal
3. Hawaii becomes first US state to declare climate emergency as islands erode away : COASTAL INFRASTRUCTURE
As sea levels rise and coastlines shrink, Hawaii becomes the first state to declare a climate emergency. RT correspondent Brigida Santos joins Mike Papantonio to explain how state and federal lawmakers are taking steps to meet the worsening climate crisis head-on.
Source: The Ring of Fire
4. What’s In the Future for the Logistics Industry? : LOGISTICS
Without a doubt, technology has significantly turned the world into an online village. With just one click of a button, it is possible to shop for anything online and have it delivered to your doorstep.
While goods still need to be moved the same distance to reach a consumer, the logistics industry can benefit from adopting new-age logistics technology. From late to missed deliveries and even damaged goods on transit, numerous problems in the logistics industry continue to affect the delivery of goods negatively.
With technology, it is possible to streamline the delivery of goods. Technology adaptation in logistics can guarantee faster delivery processes, better handling of goods on transit, and reduced cost of operations for logistics companies.
Source: Global Trade Magazine
5. 94 development projects to be inaugurated in free trade, special economic zones : ECONOMIC ZONES AND BUSINESS PARKS
TEHRAN – Some 94 development projects worth 60 trillion rials (about $1.42 billion) are going to be put into operation in Iran’s free trade and special economic zones on Thursday, the Secretary of Iranian Free Zones High Council Hamidreza Mo’meni announced.
According to Mo’meni, as the fourth series of inaugurations in the country’s free trade and special economic zones, the mentioned projects are going to be inaugurated by President Hassan Rouhani in an online ceremony.
Source: Tehran Times
6. China reluctant to clear $6 bn loan for CPEC project as debt rises : RAILWAYS AND METROS
China has shown reluctance to clear a USD 6 billion loan for the single largest project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) due to the growing concern over mounting debt.
The cost of the Mainline-I (ML-I) railway project was initially USD 9 billion but later it was reduced gradually to USD 6.8 billion. According to a report in The Express Tribune, Chinese authorities are wary of Pakistan\’s ability to service its debt.
\”Beijing conveyed its concerns during a meeting held on March 30 to discuss financing modalities of the project,\” the Pakistan government officials said as per the report.
Source: Business Standard
7. Renewable energy won’t make Elon Musk love bitcoin again : RENEWABLE ENERGY
A digital currency economist breaks down why renewable energy doesn’t really make bitcoin or Dogecoin sustainable.
Elon Musk shouldn’t hold his breath waiting for bitcoin to become environmentally friendly enough for Tesla to take it as payment. Musk announced yesterday that Tesla was walking away from the cryptocurrency because of the fossil fuels used for bitcoin mining and transactions. In the announcement, he left the door open for Tesla to accept bitcoin again if mining the cryptocurrency eventually runs on “more sustainable energy.” But some experts caution that renewable energy is not a silver bullet for bitcoin’s sustainability problem
Source: The Verge
8. How Big Utilities’ Climate Pledges Fall Short : RESOURCES AND UTILITIES
Can a utility company be carbon neutral by 2050 if it builds a gas plant now? Maybe if it shuts off the gas plant well before its 40 years of useful life are complete, leaving electric customers to pay off millions in debt.
For this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell speaks with John Romankiewicz, Senior Analyst for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. Romankiewicz and the Sierra Club released a report in January scoring utilities on their plans to transition from fossil fuels to clean power. Farrell and Romankiewicz discuss how utilities are doing far too little to retire coal, replace it with renewable energy generation, and fulfil their promises. The two had the conversation for a recent episode of ILSR’s Building Local Power podcast, republished here for Local Energy Rules.
Source: Clean Technica
9. India will be on faster growth path fuelled by infra : ROADS AND HIGHWAYS
The pandemic has caused a slowdown in India but the country\’s inherent resilience and capability will help it transform into a new India with a faster growth path fuelled by infrastructure, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said.
Addressing a virtual event organised by industry body Assocham, Gadkari further said to achieve the GDP of $5 trillion by 2024-25, India needs to spend about $1.4 trillion over these years on infrastructure.
\”Covid-19 pandemic has caused a slowdown in India. But its inherent resilience and capability will help it transform into a new India with an accelerated growth path fuelled by infrastructure,\” the Road Transport and Highways minister said.
Source: Construction Week Online
10. IIT-Madras Team Innovates Solution To Extract 90% Water From Urine & Save 10000 Litres/Day : WATER AND ENVIRONMENT
In 2018, professors and students of IIT-Madras were gearing up to compete in a competition where the team had to identify various environmental issues and brainstorm finding sustainable solutions for the same. The competition, called the All-India Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest, was organised by the institute in collaboration with the US Embassy, and sponsored by Virtusa Inc. In particular, the team was participating in the Carbon Zero Challenge category.
The students, who were from Chennai, were all too familiar with the drought conditions and water scarcity, so they began looking into solutions to deal with wastage of water.
Source: The Better India
