BPCL to embark on building 10 GW of renewable energy capacity

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), India’s second largest oil marketing  company, said it will invest INR25,000 crores (USD337 million), to build a renewable energy portfolio. In the short-term, BPCL, one of India’s integrated energy companies, with a significant presence in the  upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry, plans to expand its renewable energy portfolio to 1.0 gigawatt (GW) by 2025,  through solar (800 MW), wind (100 MW), small hydro (60MW) and biomass (40MW). By 2040, the company plans to reach 10 GW of renewable energy capacity.

BPCL has committed to achieve net zero emissions for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040. The company is said to be looking for suitable locations to build power generation units using renewable energy in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

On December 24, 2021, BCPL signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI), a Government of India Enterprise, to cooperate and collaborate in the field of renewable energy, electric mobility and alternative fuel economy, including the development of ESG projects. The MoU was signed by Amit Garg, head of BPCL’s renewable energy business and Sanjay  Sharma, executive director of SECI.

BPCL also signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical  Technology (CSIR-IICT), to develop an innovative bio-reactor design to maximize biomethane production for compressed Bio-gas (CBG) made from agricultural waste residues, such as  wheat straw, rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, etc. 

“Large scale production of agricultural waste residues will enable to reduce India’s  dependency on crude oil and will also enhance rural income and the same by-product can be  used as manure, which leads to more natural irrigation avoiding the use of chemical  fertilizers,” said  Dr. V Ravi Kumar, CGM (R&D), Bharat Petroleum Corporation  Ltd. 

The MoA was signed by Kumar on behalf of BPCL, and Dr. D. Shailja,  chief scientist and head, Business Development & Research Management, CSIR-IICT on December 23, 2021.