India's largest agrochemical company, UPL, is looking to increase the use of renewable energy to 30 percent of its global power consumption compared to the current 8 percent.
It has announced a joint venture with CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions to build a wind-solar hybrid power project of 61.05 megawatt in Gujarat. The plant will have a capacity of 28.05 megawatt of solar power and 33 megawatt of wind power.
Shares of UPL were trading 2.1 percent lower at Rs 727 on BSE as of 11:15 am. The stock is down 5 percent this year.
The captive project will lead to carbon abatement of 1.25 lakh tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent per annum. "The hybrid plant combines wind and solar power to maintain a consistently high supply of renewable energy to UPL across months and different times of the day,” Kuldeep Jain, Founder & MD of CleanMax, was quoted as saying.
UPL's move comes amidst a growing push among companies across the globe to adapt to cleaner sources of energy and fossil fuels. Big oil companies like Exxon Mobil, Shell, British Petroleum, and Total are already pivoting towards low-carbon businesses.
At the United Nations climate talks last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India will increase the capacity of its non-fossil fuels electricity to 500 gigawatts by 2030.
Indian companies have also embarked on zero-emission targets. Indian Oil said last month that it plans to achieve net zero operational emissions by 2046. BPCL has also forayed into the renewable energy business and plans to have 10 gigawatt capacity by 2040.
UPL has also signed a definitive agreement to acquire 26 percent equity in Clean Max Kratos Pvt. Ltd. The latter is a Mumbai-based renewable energy company. UPL will initially acquire 2,600 shares for a total consideration of Rs 26,000, while it has committed to invest Rs 39.60 crore in CleanMax in one or more tranches.
Last month, UPL announced a collaboration with ORO Agri to co-distribute a biosolution that is effective against a wide range of pests and diseases.
UPL provides agricultural solutions, including seeds, conventional crop protection products, and post-harvest products, making it a leader within the agri-solutions space.
At the end of its April-June quarter, the company increased its full fiscal revenue growth guidance to 12-15 percent from 10 percent earlier. Guidance for EBITDA growth was also revised to 15-18 percent from 12-15 percent.
First Published: Sept 16, 2022 11:41 AM IST
