BPCL Signs Pact with SECI to Install 10GW RE Capacity by 2040

Fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to set up 10 Gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2040. The move is also significant in that BPCL has been marked out for disinvestment or complete privatisation by the government, in a process that was due to be completed by March, 2022. That process is clearly running behind schedule, but it doesn’t seem to have prevented the PSU from committing to major strategic decisions.  

The company did not disclose the quantum of investment being planned but said that BPCL and SECI will jointly pursue business opportunities in renewable energy space including solar, wind, electric mobility, hydrogen and waste-to-energy segments.

The company would begin by setting up a 1 GW renewable energy portfolio by 2025. “This collaboration marks a new area of engagement for our company, and will act as a catalyst to fast track our journey towards Net-Zero in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions,” BPCL Chairman and Managing Director A K Singh said.

BPCL is the country’s second-largest oil marketing company engaged in refining of crude oil and marketing of petroleum products, with a presence in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. SECI, a PSU under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), is engaged in promotion and development of renewable energy resources.

India aims at 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by December 2022, including solar and wind power, and further scale it up to 450 GW by 2030. 

In June this year, BPCL released a tender to procure 15 MW of solar and non-solar renewable energy on a short-term open access basis for its refinery in Mahul, Mumbai.

Additionally, the oil and gas major announced last month that it will set up 7,000 stations over the next five years. The company also plans to install 1,000 charging stations over the same period.

“EV charging infrastructure is one of the five focused segments that BPCL is working on along with petchem, gas, consumer retailing, renewables and biofuels that will serve the energy needs of the nation,” said Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman, BPCL, in an official statement.