India’s Reliance Industries wants to invest close to $80 billion in multiple green energy projects in the state of Gujarat as part of the company’s increasingly ambitious decarbonisation drive.
Reliance — headed by Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest person — said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government for a total investment of 5.955 trillion rupees ($80 billion), most of which is aimed at the green energy sector.
“To make Gujarat net zero and carbon free, Reliance proposes to invest 5 trillion rupees in the state [of Gujarat] over the span of 10 to 15 years to set up 100 GW renewable-energy power plant and green-hydrogen ecosystem development,” the company said.
Reliance said it has started the process of scouting land for 100 GW renewable energy power project in Kutch, Banaskantha and Dholera, and has requested 450,000 acres of land in Kutch.
It added it would also develop an ecosystem for assisting small and medium enterprises and encouraging entrepreneurs to "embrace new technologies and innovations leading to captive use of renewable energy and green hydrogen".
New energy manufacturing
The company will spend and additional 600 billion rupees in setting up “new energy manufacturing”, which includes solar modules, electrolysers, batteries for energy storage and fuel cells.
Another 250 billion rupees will be invested in existing projects and new ventures in the next three to five years.
Along with the green energy investments, the company has also proposed investment of $1 billion in the next three to five years to upgrade telecom networks to 5G and another $406 million in its retail business.
Renewables push
The company’s green energy push is part of a larger shift in India’s energy industry.
Reliance last year unveiled a $10 billion plan spanning renewables, storage and hydrogen, including what it claims will be the world’s largest green energy equipment “giga-complex” and a 100GW capacity goal.
The investment over three years would propel Reliance to net-zero emissions status by 2035 and play a leading role in meeting India’s vast national renewables goals.
The 100GW target propels the company into the top ranks of renewables ambitions globally, joining the likes of Enel, Iberdrola and oil giants TotalEnergies and BP in the scale of capacity additions envisaged.
Solar is expected to play a massive role in India’s energy transition, according to the International Energy Agency, which said India is on course to become the world’s first “solar nation”.
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