"IndianOil is Firmly Committed to Achieving Net Zero Operational Emissions By 2046"

From solarising its vast network of retail outlets to investing massively in green hydrogen, biofuels, renewables, and carbon offsetting, Indian Oil is moving steadfastly towards its goal of achieving Net Zero by 2046.

In this interview, Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, traces the company's achievements so far and its future plans. Edited excerpts:

IndianOil has been expanding into renewables. Please give a snapshot of your overall portfolio, including solar, wind and hybrid portfolio.

At present, IndianOil has a renewable energy portfolio of 249 MW, comprising of 168 MW from wind and about 81 MW from solar. We have successfully solarised over 32,000 retail outlets, achieving a cumulative installed capacity of 167 MW.

We are expanding this portfolio by an additional 1 GW. Additionally, in partnership with NTPC, we have plans to utilise nearly 650 MW of round-the-clock (installed capacity of 1.8 GW) renewable capacity to support the energy needs of our expanding refinery operations.

We plan to scale up our renewable capacity to nearly 31 GW by the next decade. Renewable assets remain a core part of our strategy to mitigate emissions in line with our operational Net Zero 2046 commitment.  

IndianOil has set a Net Zero target by 2046. What will be the important milestones in the process? 

IndianOil is firmly committed to achieving Net Zero operational emissions by 2046, wherein we plan to make an investment of over Rs. 2.4 lakh crore in the implementation of various lowcarbon initiatives. Also, we are expanding our renewable portfolio to meet the captive demand while catering to other market segments.