India’s larges aluminium producer Vedanta Aluminium Business became the country’s biggest purchaser of renewable energy for the first quarter of FY 21-22 on the Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX) this week after it bought 354 million units of solar and non-solar renewable energy from the Green Term-Ahead Market (GTAM).
The Vedanta Limited subsidiary is utilizing IEX to help it meet its sustainability goals which it hopes will eventually have it to net-zero carbon emissions in the near future. The GTAM was established last year by IEX to aid buyers in purchasing green energy in as flexible and competitive a manner as possible.
Vedanta Aluminium’s purchase last week accounts for over a third of all green power traded on the platform in the current quarter.
Deputy CEO of Vedanta Aluminium Business Rahul Sharma said in a press release that this week’s purchase is but one step in its journey to low-carbon aluminium.
“Our sustainability imperatives are designed to fulfill our climate impact reduction targets, which are in complete alignment with the goals of Paris Agreement and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted by the Government of India. To that end, our efforts have been towards adopting global best-practices in energy management and deploying advanced technologies to reduce our carbon footprint. Our long-term strategy focuses on migrating to low carbon energy mix, with gradual shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, to produce green aluminium.”
Rohit Bajaj, Senior Vice President & Head-Business Development, IEX, lauded Vedanta on its sizable purchase of green energy.
“At IEX, our constant focus has been to build a customer centric energy marketplace leveraging innovation and technology towards building India as a sustainable and efficient energy economy. The Green Term-Ahead Market offers the market participants an opportunity to trade in delivery based solar and non-solar renewable energy at the most competitive prices in a flexible manner. The market segment has been operational for over a year now and has received splendid response from industries, especially the energy intensive ones as well as the distribution utilities.”
“IEX congratulates Vedanta Aluminium Business for being a leading participant in the green market and greatly appreciates their efforts in inspiring the industry at large to step up green energy procurement and reduce carbon footprint,” continued Bajaj. “We believe India Inc. has a vital role to play in building a sustainable energy future for the industry and our country.”