Hindalco Partners With Greenko To Produce Solar & Wind Power For Odisha Smelter

Aditya Birla Group owned Hindalco and energy transition company Greenko Energies have announced that they have entered into a commercial arrangement to set up a renewable energy project for supply of 100 MW round-the-clock carbon free power. The arrangement covers the development of 375-400 MW of solar and wind capacity.

The official statement by Hindalco held that the renewable energy project will be set up as a captive generation facility under a 25-year offtake arrangement and will supply power to Hindalco’s Aditya Aluminium smelter in Odisha, enabling reduction of CO2 emissions by 680,000 tonnes annually.

Hindalco said that further discussions between the parties to execute a PPA and other agreements are expected to be completed soon.

Aluminium smelting requires reliable and continuous power. The project will be one of the world’s first for the aluminium sector with very high (+85%) reliability from solar and wind power without dependence on grid electricity. Hindalco will also be the first aluminium company in India to use such RTC (round the clock) carbon free power for smelting.

As per the pact, Greenko Energies will design, construct, partly own and operate the solar and wind facilities. Greenko will also make available appropriate storage capacity from its hydro pump storage project in Pinnapuram, Andhra Pradesh to ensure continuous power supply to Hindalco.

The RE project takes forward the vision of Hindalco of responsible and sustainable manufacturing. Hindalco said that over the past few years, it has already invested in over 100 MW of solar and wind power. The RE project adds 100 MW of captive power and enhancement of the same to up to 350 MW of round-the-clock carbon-free energy shall be explored in the future.

Satish Pai, MD, Hindalco, said, “The agreement with Greenko is a significant step towards reducing our carbon footprint and cementing our status as the world’s most sustainable aluminium company. We are guided by our long-term commitment of becoming net carbon-neutral by 2050 and we are happy to partner with Greenko in this audacious journey.”

Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty, CEO and MD, Greenko, stated, “At Greenko, we firmly believe that clean energy sources backed with competitive and proven storage technologies like hydro pump storage project offers a competitive, reliable and sustainable alternative to consumers to support their decarbonisation journey.”

In March, ArcelorMittal – leading steel maker in the world – had also tied up with Greenko to attain 975 MW of clean and renewable energy for $600 million for the joint venture of the former – ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India.