The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
NEW DELHI, MAY 2, 2022
Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, has announced long-term sourcing of 380 MW of renewable energy for its Aluminium Smelters.
Some 180 MW of this RE will be for the Aluminium Smelter at Jharsuguda, Odisha, and 200 MW for the Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) at Korba, Chhattisgarh. This will be carried out through a Power Delivery Agreement (PDA) between Vedanta Limited (Aluminium Business) and Special Purpose Vehicles, affiliates of Sterlite Power Technologies Pvt Ltd (SPTPL), a company engaged in the business of supplying renewable power (hybrid) with solar, wind and storage solutions.
Once online, this project has the potential to reduce Vedanta Aluminium’s GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by 15,00,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.
Charting its roadmap to Net Zero by 2050, Vedanta Aluminium is working on a three pronged-approach to decarbonize its operations: increasing the quantum of renewable energy in its energy mix; bolstering operational efficiencies to reduce energy consumption; and rapidly transitioning to cleaner fuels and technologies.
Notably, the company was India’s largest industrial consumer of renewable energy in FY22, having procured nearly 3 billion units which was utilized in the production of Vedanta’s low carbon ‘green’ aluminium brand, Restora.
It is a strategic imperative for the company to reduce carbon emissions across every process stage. As a result of this unwavering focus, Vedanta Aluminium has reduced its GHG emissions intensity by 21 per cent in FY21 while almost tripling its production, over FY12 baseline.
The company is also a member of the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) family and ranked fourth amongst global aluminium producers in 2021.
Rahul Sharma, CEO, Aluminium Business, Vedanta Ltd., said: “This 380 MW renewable energy power delivery agreement for our aluminium smelters stands true to our mission of aligning the incentives of growth with the imperatives for the planet. Our determination to build a Net Zero climate-resilient aluminium business is equally matched by our commitment to improve the quality of lives of those around us, with the knowledge that both are contingent on the environment. And therefore, we have redesigned our ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) roadmap until 2030, with a focus on increasing renewable energy consumption, carbon reduction, water conservation and waste utilization.”
The term of the power delivery agreement is 25 years from the date of commissioning of the project. Built in a captive model, this will also aid in cost-effective sourcing of renewable energy and insulate the company from volatility in the commodities market.
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.26 million tonnes in FY22. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
