30 DECARBONISATION
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Jindal Aluminium Limited: Taking strides in sustainable manufacturing Fifty years ago, Indian manufacturing was still as nascent as the country itself, establishing roots to build a nation known for its diversity and democratic values. Today, India and the Indian industry are shaping the world for a better future. Similarly, in the landscape of downstream aluminium manufacturing, Jindal Aluminium Limited leads the way in sustainable manufacturing. Transcending an era Over the past decade, India has shifted out of an age where chronic power shortage was the order of the day. Today India is almost energy surplus (last reported energy deficit was 0.6% in the FY ending March 2019), but there was a period when industry and domestic supply had to face challenges resulting in load-shedding as a solution. Conventional energy sources of power generation are also fast depleting; this scarcity has been time and again prioritised at the international level. Harnessing renewable energy on the other hand is one of the most sustainable ways of meeting the increasing electricity demand globally. India has set itself an ambitious target of generating 450 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030. The government wants to meet half of the country’s power consumption requirement with renewable energy resources by then. Jindal Aluminium Limited formed in 1968 has taken a pioneering lead in the use of renewable energy. The company, always visionary in its approach is the first company to set up both wind and solar power plants in Karnataka for its captive use. While the former was set up in 1997, the latter came up in 2013. Generating clean power One of the ways of attaining sustainable growth is to generate electricity by harnessing the potential of the sun, which is both cleaner and promising. Solar has the greatest energy potential among the other sources of renewable energy and the amount of energy that the earth receives. Following the Centre, which announced a solar policy in 2010, various states’ March/April 2021
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government have introduced their policy to encourage the generation of power from renewable energy for a sustainable future. Jindal Aluminium’s first solar power plant was a 10 MW project set up in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka in a record timeframe of 4 months. Here, a solar carpet was laid over 51 acres of rocky non–agricultural terrain making this the first and largest EPC project in Karnataka. This was followed by a 20 MW Solar Power Project in Davangere district in Karnataka, taking the company’s total capacity to 30 MW of solar power energy generation. In wind energy, Jindal Aluminium has over time added generating capacity that currently produces 25.6 MW of wind energy at Chitradurga district in Karnataka, and another 25.2 MW wind energy is generated at Anantapur district in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. The beauty of setting up renewable
energy plants is that a clear goal of being self-sufficient and sustainable is met. The renewable energy power plants now not only meet 100% of the company’s requirements but also cater to the requirements of the common man with 50 MW being supplied to the grid annually. Challenges like site complexities coupled with a smart plant design have never hampered plans of execution of a vision of making manufacturing sustainable. The decision has resulted in cost savings and reduced wastage of power, for Jindal Aluminium which has proudly led the way in harnessing the nature in a much cleaner way. Keeping an eye on all the renewable power generated and its consumption are the periodic Energy Audits that Jindal Aluminium commissions. Covering all the major power-consuming areas, the audits allow for observations, leading to reduced power consumption. �
ABOUT JINDAL ALUMINIUM Jindal Aluminium projects are located in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka
Founded by Dr. Sitaram Jindal in the year 1968, Jindal Aluminium is a pioneer in the manufacturing of Aluminium products. With state of the art facility and expertise in manufacturing intricate Aluminium profiles, it is the largest producer of Aluminium extruded and the secondlargest producer of Aluminium flat-rolled products in India. The company believes in building an enriched society brought about by innovation and excellence in the manufacturing of Aluminium products.
Aluminium International Today
23/02/2021 14:39:36