Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) has decided to form a wholly-owned subsidiary to undertake low-carbon, clean, and green energy businesses with an equity investment of ₹13.04 billion (~$15.63 million).

IOCL has committed itself to installing 1 GW of renewable energy projects, including standalone ground-mounted solar, standalone onshore wind, or wind-solar hybrid projects, at a cost of ₹52.15 billion (~$625.38 million).

As part of its transition plan to meet its operational requirement of net zero, the company aims to bring together its existing green assets and expand its presence across sustainable energy avenues like biofuels, carbon offsets and carbon capture, utilization and storage, green hydrogen, and renewables.

IOCL also plans to build a portfolio of 3 GW renewable energy and 0.6 MMT biofuels by 2025, 35 GW renewable energy, 4 MMT biofuels, and 1 MMT biogas by 2030, and 200 GW renewable energy, 7 MMT biofuels, and 9 MMT biogas by 2050.

The company has a renewable energy portfolio of 239 MW and intends to expand it through various projects, including hydel, solar, wind, and pumped hydro. As part of its expansion plan, IOCL is collaborating with NTPC to increase its renewable energy capacity by approximately 2.8 GW and step-up initiatives to 4,700 EV charging stations and 66 battery swapping stations.

IOC has made its presence felt in areas like biofuel and green hydrogen by investing in projects in Jaipur, Panipat, and Gujarat.

The company has also signed a binding term sheet with Panasonic Group to form a joint venture for manufacturing cells in India. This venture will meet the expanding demand for Lithium-ion for mobility applications and energy storage systems in India.

In April this year, IOCL issued a tender for a green hydrogen generation unity of 10 KTA capacity on a build-own-operate basis at its Panipat Refinery Petrochemical Complex.

The company also issued an EPC tender to construct a 1 MW open-access captive solar power project that will be grid-connected at its Northern Region Pipelines in Kurukshetra, Haryana.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, IOCL has tendered 110.61 MW Capacity of solar projects to date.