Union Minister of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal has said twenty telemetry stations will be set up in the North East to monitor seismic activities. Disclosing this at a news conference in Guwahati yesterday after a three day tour to Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, he said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) will install two such stations in Nagaland, at Mokokchung and Kohima by June 2007

Shri Sibal also revealed that IMD will establish 50 Automatic Weather Stations in the North-East by March next year. Among these, 13 stations will be located in Arunachal Pradesh and eight in Nagaland and will be installed by end of December this year.

Shri Sibal disclosed that the possibility of setting up of three Doppler weather radars for weather forecast in the North-East will be investigated. These radars are expected to be commissioned in next year.

The Minister said the Government will encourage utilization of bamboo based engineered material in good housing and construction programmes. National Mission on Bamboo Application (NMBA) under Department of S&T will support the industries of bamboo prefabricated structures for public domain buildings, especially for the school construction programme and for hospitals and dispensaries linked with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) or other Government of India funded programmes.

He said that the bamboo pre-fabricated modular structures in high altitude areas can withstand temperatures till -300C, zone V Seismic loading and static snow load of 3 feet and high velocity winds upto 100 km per hour. Such demonstrative pre-fabricated modular structures in high altitude areas at forward locations of the Indian Army completed in August this year in Tawang area.

The Minister suggested that the State Governments of the North East should review the access and regulatory regime for bamboo including felling & transportation and of the fiscal and incentive regime for value added products. He said the NMBA will support an actionable study of the existing provisions. He said the abundant resource of bamboo sector should be developed for more employment opportunities and strengthening the economy.

Shri Sibal said a Bamboo Technology Park will be established at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh and it will be fully funded by the Centre. He also announced a bio-resources Mapping programme through CSIR for Arunachal Pradesh.

In the Health Care Sector Shri Sibal said that Department of Science & Technology (DST) will support the setting up 33 Iron Removal plants in Nagaland and 15 such plants in Arunachal Pradesh in the next year for providing clean drinking water. The technology developed by the Central Glass & Ceramics Research Institute (CGCRI), Kolkata, uses membranes which provide physical separation between product water and contaminants.

The DST has also taken up a programme of induction of 150 nano-membrane filters in Nagaland and 350 such filters in Arunachal Pradesh, at Ruksin and Dirang to provide clean drinking water.

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=21359

China is poised to join FutureGen, an initiative by US President George W. Bush to build a giant emission-free power plant.

Shang Yong, vice-minister of science and technology, said the government will soon begin negotiations with the US about possible rights and obligations for participation in the Government Steering Committee.

The plan was announced yesterday at the ongoing 12th US-China Joint Commission Meeting on Scientific and Technological Co-operation.

John Marburger, science adviser to the US president and head of the US delegation, said he was "glad" that China, the world's largest coal producer and consumer, was showing an interest in the programme.

"China must take advantage of high-tech energy projects to meet the increasing domestic energy needs," Marburger said in an interview.

Initiated three years ago, FutureGen is a 10-year effort that plans to collect about US$950 million in international funds to build a zero-emission, coal-fired electric and hydrogen production plant.

It will try to integrate advanced technologies in coal gasification, hydrogen from coal, power generation, and carbon dioxide capture and geologic storage.

Under the scheme, each signatory needs to contribute US$10 million to the programme. In the meantime, participants can benefit from development of any new technologies.

Lee Hwa Gebert, a senior official with the US Department of Energy, said the draft of general agreement for FutureGen partners is still being reviewed by the US Department of State.

"After it is passed, which may take several months, the two countries can actually sit down and have a further talk," she said.

India and the Republic of Korea were the first two participants in FutureGen. And China Huaneng Group, the country's leading power corporation, was a step ahead of the government as it joined the programme last year as a company member.

"FutureGen looks like a far distant solution for the public, but it is a roadmap for clean coal technology," Xu Jing, deputy director with the high tech division of the Ministry of Science and Technology, told China Daily.

He said the programme is the ultimate goal for comprehensive energy use, since the plant will produce both electricity and hydrogen out of coal.

"Before realizing the goal, we need to improve current coal gasification technologies," Xu said.

The ministry plans to build several pilot power plants for integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) across the country within the next five years. IGCC is emerging as one of the most promising technologies for realization of low-emission power generation, by utilizing low-quality solid and liquid fuels.

There are five similar pilot power stations in the US and several in Europe, the official said.

"We will encourage companies to lead the plan and in return, they will gain some subsidies," Xu said.

"These IGCC plants are preparations for an upgrade to more advanced plants suggested in FutureGen."

The biennial Sino-US joint meeting kicked off yesterday. It aims to help both countries develop new science and technology co-operation areas.

In addition to clean energy technologies, both sides also agreed on further collaboration in climate change, water resource management, earth observation and nanotechnologies.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-10/19/content_711519.htm

MUMBAI: India Inc is sitting on a goldmine, but seems hesitant to go for it. Companies ranging from Reliance Energy to National Thermal Power Corporation, and Tata Chemicals to Chambal Fertilisers, have failed to take advantage of carbon credits, where certified reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) can be sold at a premium on exchanges to companies in developed countries.

Under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, signed voluntarily by 150 countries - the US is a major exception - global companies that have exceeded their emission levels can either cut down emissions or buy carbon credits from developing countries.

To avail themselves of this extra stream of income, companies in developing countries like India have to make some technology changes that will result in a lowering of carbon emissions. Once this reduction is certified by organisations like Ernst & Young and EcoSecurities, the value of this credit is tradable at a premium.

About 60-70% of greenhouse gas emissions are created by fuel combustion in industries like cement, steel, textiles and fertilisers, apart from power. But bureaucratic sloth and a general lack of awareness on ways of monetising carbon credits has resulted in many Indian companies losing an opportunity while Chinese and Brazilian companies are making hay, say carbon credit experts.

A majority of power generating, transmitting and distributing companies in India, including Tata Power, Reliance Energy and Power Grid, have so far not partaken of this multi-million euro bonanza. Nor have fertiliser companies such as National Fertilizers, Deepak Fertilizers, Tata Chemicals and GNFC.

Even Suzlon Energy, among the global majors in wind turbine energy, has lost an opportunity in getting its wind farms in Tamil Nadu registered for carbon credits, which could have generated another stream of revenue for its business.

Pranav Nahar, director at EcoSecurities, one of the leading companies in the world for carbon trading, says his company strikes at least 10 carbon credit contracts a week. "In India, we would be happy to do at least 10 contracts a year."

Power transmission in India comes with a large percentage of transmission and distribution losses. If these are reduced, they can automatically qualify for credits, says Nahar. So what are Indian companies losing out on? The sums are mindboggling, says Nahar. "Some of the fertiliser companies are losing close to 20 million to 30 million euros (Rs 115-180 crore)", he says. "The return on investment is fabulous." To avail oneself of this extra stream of income, companies have to make some technology changes which will result in a lowering of carbon emissions.

Surprisingly, smaller companies, including those involved in biomass projects, and poultry farms, have done extraordinary work in this segment, Nahar said in an interview to DNA Money. There are many success stories, but the failures outnumber successes. While Gujarat Fluorochemicals is slated to get at least Rs 1,000 crore in the span of a few years, Navin Fluorine missed this opportunity. In this business, the first mover has all the advantages, says Nahar.

The other sectors that can tap this industry, he says, are the municipalities by fulfilling certain conditions such as setting up waste water treatment plants, sanitary landfills, etc.

Waste gas capture in the form of landfill methane projects remains a very important project type, with specialist project developers such as EcoMethane being established specifically to design and run these types of projects. Other promising sectors include coalmine methane capture, cement, and fertilisers. The credits are more for EcoMethane projects.

What are carbon credits?

Carbon credits are measured in units of certified emission reductions (CERs). Each CER is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide reduction, and these can be traded.
Every tonne of reduction in greenhouse gases involves an investment of $300-400.

Global companies that have exceeded their emission levels can either cut them down by making the needed investments or buy carbon credits from developing countries. Trading takes place on two stock exchanges, the Chicago Climate Exchange and the European Climate Exchange. Trading can also take place in the open market. European countries and Japan are the major buyers of carbon credit because the US has till not accepted the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1058656