India’s Bharat Petroleum To Raise $2.2 Billion For Green Energy Expansion

India’s State-owned oil company Bharat Petroleum has approved raising up to 180 billion rupees ($2.19 billion) through an issue of equity shares as part of the government’s push into green energy. The Indian government plans to inject billions of dollars into Bharat Petroleum and its state-owned peers, Indian Oil Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. to help fund their energy transition projects. The three refiners plan to invest 3.5 trillion rupees to 4 trillion rupees to achieve their net-zero emissions goals by 2040. The government has pledged to invest $350 billion rupee s($4.3B) in clean energy projects in the current year. Bharat Petroleum is India’s third-biggest refiner and the second-largest fuel retailer with a 21% slice of the market.

India’s private sector is also investing heavily in clean energy projects.

A week ago, a venture group backed by India’s second-largest solar energy company, Vikram Solar, will invest up to $1.5 billion in the U.S. solar energy supply chain, with the first investments going to a factory in Colorado next year, according to an exclusive Reuters report. 

The $250 million Colorado facility will be capable of producing 2 gigawatts (GW) of modules a year initially and double the capacity over time and will also create more than 900 jobs. 

Newly formed VSK Energy LLC will leverage India's extensive solar manufacturing know-how in the U.S. push to build a clean energy manufacturing sector that can compete with China. Vikram Solar Limited is one of the largest solar module manufacturers in India with 3.5 GW module manufacturing capacity annually.

"It's a great thing for us to be bringing an Indian company to the table here. You've seen a number of Indian companies get into the manufacturing space and do quite well, and Vikram is the best of them,"Sriram Das, managing director at Das & Co and chairman of the joint venture, told Reuters.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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