-The Hindu In Punjab, a project to use of paddy straw to produce compressed bio gas is one that is replicable across India, and can transform the rural economy The beginnings of a renewable energy revolution rooted in agriculture are taking shape in India with the first bio-energy plant of a private company in Sangrur district of Punjab having commenced commercial operations on October 18. It will produce Compressed Bio Gas (CBG)...

-Hindustan Times Haryana currently has 10 power projects that use paddy straw to generate around 84MW electricity. Besides, there are two paddy straw-based biomass power projects in Kurukshetra and Kaithal, owned by Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA), that consume 3.5 lakh MT of crop waste and generate 15 MW electricity each. Karnal: With around 35 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy crop residue generated every year, Haryana faces a mammoth task...

-The Hindu Western nations have started reinterpreting the Paris deal and look to downgrade their commitments Countries in Europe led by Germany, Austria and the Netherlands are cranking up their coal plants again. Coal exports to Europe are surging. Fossil fuels are making a comeback and countries are rejecting the European Union (EU)’s plan to reduce natural gas consumption by 15%. Dutch, Polish and other European farmers are protesting against emission cuts...

-The Wire Science * Solar energy is a rapidly expanding marketplace that should benefit the environment. Solar panels can last for decades if they are properly cleaned and maintained. * But there is a catch. What happens to these panels after they are decommissioned? They go straight to the landfill, where they have significant consequences. * Heavy metals in solar panels such as lead and cadmium have been known to seep out of...

-Newsclick.in Production has dipped for the first time in the Modi era and procurement has plummeted, bringing wheat stocks down and affecting foodgrain-based schemes. The Narendra Modi-led Central government is going to be confronted with a crisis that it has never faced yet – shortage of wheat, one of India’s key staples. The worry about this looming cloud is aggravated by the fact that the Modi government has not been particularly successful...