Saint-Gobain and Sembcorp Collaborate for Green Power Capacity Building

Saint-Gobain India and Green Infra Wind Energy Ltd (GIWEL) have signed a long-term wind-solar hybrid energy supply agreement. GIWEL is a subsidiary of Sembcorp Green Infra’s (SGIL) which itself is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries. Supporting the commitment of Saint-Gobain to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Sembcorp will supply 33MW of locally sourced renewable power to Saint-Gobain manufacturing facilities in Sriperumbudur, Perundurai and Tiruvallur, over the next 25 years.

The power to manufacturing facilities of Saint-Gobain will be supplied through a special purpose vehicle (SPV). GIWEL will hold a 74% stake in the SPV, with the remainder stake held by Saint-Gobain India.

A.R. Unnikrishnan, Managing Director, Saint-Gobain Glass Business, said, “We believe in engaging key stakeholders like customers, suppliers, employees and society at large in making this happen. With like-minded partners like Sembcorp, we are embarking on a low carbon to no-carbon era, a world that all of us can be proud of and for future generations to enjoy.”

Venkat Subramanian, Managing Director, Saint-Gobain Gyproc Business, held, “Saint-Gobain businesses across India have focused emphasis on sustainable growth and are aligned with the sustainable energy goals of India. We are excited to have the association with Sembcorp for providing renewable energy sourced locally in India. This association shall further support our aim to manufacture sustainable construction material in India.”

“Aimed at fulfilling the ambitious target of 100% Green Power by 2027-28, the agreement with Sembcorp is also another step in our continued efforts to add more green capacity through collaboration with green power generators and to meet our sustainability targets,” said Subramanian.

Vipul Tuli, CEO of South Asia, Sembcorp Industries, stated, “The partnership with Saint-Gobain is a strong endorsement of our competitiveness and capabilities in renewable energy, and aligns with Sembcorp’s Brown to Green transformation. By supporting industry leaders like Saint-Gobain in meeting their carbon neutrality goals through such green partnerships, we are demonstrating our long-term commitment to India’s green energy transition. Hybrid wind-solar power is a clean, viable, reliable supply option to support India’s Atmanirbhar manufacturing ambitions.”

To date, Saint-Gobain India has installed multiple solar plants across locations in India. By the end of 2022, the captive solar plants will replace close to 22 million units of electricity required. By 2023, Saint-Gobain India will have 44% of its electricity consumption coming from renewables.

Similarly, Sembcorp wants to quadruple its gross installed renewable energy capacity to 10GW by 2025 from 2.6GW in 2020, and a 25 percent reduction by 2025 in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2020. Sembcorp’s renewable energy capacity stands at 5.7GW with wind and solar offerings in key markets such as India, Singapore, Vietnam and China.