Vedanta Aluminium becomes India’s largest industrial consumer of renewable energy in 2021
13th January 2022
- About 2 billion units of renewable energy procured through the Power Exchanges for Aluminium Smelter located at Jharsuguda, Odisha
- Reduction in GHG emissions intensity by over 1540 KtCO2e at Jharsuguda Smelter
- At over 2.8 million certificates, BALCO was India’s largest REC buyer
New Delhi; 13th January 2022: Vedanta Aluminium Business, India’s largest producer of aluminium and value-added products, has become the largest industrial consumer of renewable energy (RE) in 2021, leading renewable energy procurement on India’s power exchanges – Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL).
The Company has procured about 2 billion units of RE power in the year 2021 for consumption at its Aluminium Smelter in Jharsuguda, Odisha, thereby reducing GHG emissions intensity at the smelter by more than 1540 KtCO2e (kilo tonnes of CO2 equivalent) in the year. Vedanta Aluminium’s Jharsuguda unit is India’s largest renewable energy buyer on Green Term Ahead Market (G-TAM) platform at IEX.
Vedanta’s subsidiary Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) has led the renewable energy trading session, procuring 59% of the traded RE certificates (RECs) in November 2021 alone, and a total of over 2,861,700 RECs in the year.
Speaking about Vedanta Aluminium’s ESG vision, Mr Rahul Sharma, CEO – Aluminium Business, Vedanta Limited, said, “We are committed to our vision of achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2050. To that end, we have stepped up our endeavours along key three pillars – continuously improving energy efficiency of operations, increasing the quantum of renewable energy in our energy mix, and replacing fossil fuels with greener and cleaner alternatives – all powered by emerging green technologies. Becoming India’s largest industrial consumer of RE in 2021 reflects our persistent endeavours to increase the share of green power in our energy mix and accelerate our transition into low-carbon operations.”
Mr. Rohit Bajaj, Senior Vice President and Head – Business Development, IEX, added, “Indian Energy Exchange’s (IEX) Green Market comprising the Day-ahead collective auction market as well as the Term-Ahead Contracts leverages innovation and technology to offer market participants an opportunity to trade in solar and non-solar renewable energy at the most competitive prices, and in a flexible manner. As the leading industry participant in the Green Market, Vedanta Aluminium Business has indeed set a very strong precedence for the Indian manufacturing industry to step up green energy consumption towards reducing their carbon footprint. We greatly appreciate Vedanta Aluminium’s focused endeavour towards building India’s sustainable tomorrow.”
Mr. Prabhajit Kumar Sarkar, MD & CEO – Power Exchange India Ltd. (PXIL), said, “We congratulate BALCO for being the leading buyer in the November 2021 REC trading session. Focused RE adoption strategy by industry leaders such as Vedanta Aluminium shall inspire the industry at large to accelerate the pace of energy transition. Power Exchange India Ltd. (PXIL) is helping industries achieve their ESG goals through integration of renewables in the power markets. India Inc’s commitment to ESG and transactional efficiency through power markets will play a critical role in shaping India’s energy future.”
Vedanta Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest manufacturer of aluminium, producing half of India’s aluminium i.e., 1.97 million tonnes in FY21. 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.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY24. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. 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.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
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This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
