Indian Oil Corporation, the nation’s biggest oil firm, will invest Rs 1,660.15 crore as equity in a newly set up joint venture with energy major NTPC Ltd for setting up renewable power plants.
In June, IOC and NTPC formed a 50:50 joint venture company, IndianOil NTPC Green Energy Pvt Ltd, to set up renewable energy projects to meet round-the-clock power requirements of refineries of the oil company.
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In a stock exchange filing, IOC said its Board in a meeting on October 13, “has accorded approval to the investment plan of the joint venture company for setting up of renewable energy power plants and approved the equity contribution of up to Rs 1,660.15 crore towards Indian Oil’s share of 50 per cent in the equity share capital of the JVC.” On June 2, IOC incorporated the joint venture company (JVC) with NTPC Green Energy Limited, (a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited).
“IndianQil NTPC Green Energy Private Limited will develop renewable energy-based power projects (viz. Solar PV, wind, any other renewable energy, energy storage or any combination of the same), to meet the round-the-clock (RTC) power requirements of new projects of IndianQOil Refineries,” the firm had said at that time. The aim is to generate a minimum capacity of 650 MW of round-the-clock renewable power to fulfill the energy requirements of IOC refineries.
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NTPC, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, NGEL, has set an ambitious target of building a renewable generation portfolio of 60 GW over the next decade to aggressively pursue its green energy business. In March, IOC had announced consolidation of its green assets under one umbrella for better synergy. It is aiming to build a portfolio of 3 GW renewable energy and 0.6 million tonnes of biofuels by 2025.
The renewable energy portfolio is to be expanded to 35 GW by 2030, and 200 GW by 2050. Alongside, it plans to raise capacity to produce biofuels from agri and municipal waste to 7 million tonnes and biogas to 9 million tonnes by 2050. Its renewable energy portfolio currently stands at 239 MW, which is being expanded through new wind, solar, hydel and pumped hydro projects. It is collaborating with NTPC to augment its renewable energy capacity by around 2.8 GW.
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IOC is also solarising 20,705 petrol pumps with an installed capacity of 121 MW. Initiatives in EVs are being intensified by setting up 4,700 charging stations and 66 battery swapping stations. It has collaborated with Israeli start up Phinergy for a battery joint venture. IOC has also firmly etched its presence in the nascent green hydrogen ecosystem of the country. The company has a firmed-up collaboration with ReNew Power Private Limited (ReNew) and Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for green hydrogen business. A 7 kilo-tonnes per annum green hydrogen capacity is under development at the Panipat refinery.
