Indian Oil & Gas Company Plans To Add 240 Megawatts Of Renewable Energy Capacity This Year

Government-owned oil marketing company BPCL has announced plans to add 240 megawatts of renewable energy capacity before April of 2024.

According to media reports, the company plans to invest Rs 16 billion ($195 million) to set up this capacity. The planned projects will be set up in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

The plan is part of the company’s long term goal to have 10 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2040. An intermediate milestone in this goal is to have 1 gigawatts of capacity by 2025. The company also intends to have net zero emissions from scope 1 and 2 activities by 2040.

An increased number of government-owned companies are now looking to increase renewable energy procurement and reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions. The Indian government has set a very ambitious target to have 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2032.

Government owned companies like SJVN, NHPC, and THDC — all hydropower generation companies — have announced plans to set up large scale solar and wind energy projects. Companies operating in sectors other than power generation have also announced ambitious plans to expand their renewable energy base. These include Coal India, NLC, Indian Railways, and Indian Oil, among others.

Module, wind turbine, and power equipment costs have increased significantly over the last three years. Consequently, project development activity has slowed down in the private sector. The government has thus turned to its own to help keep up the momentum towards the 500 gigawatt target.