Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) will be setting up a 50 MW solar plant in Odisha.
The cost of the plant setup is estimated to be ₹301.92 crores. The plant will be set up in the Sambalpur district of Odisha. The green project is part of the miner’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2024.
This project will reduce carbon dioxide emission by 91,020 tonnes per annum and carbon offsets of around 24,824 tonnes per annum.
Mahanadi Coalfields has its headquarters in Sambalpur. The corporation has placed an order to Chennai based firm. This green energy project will be established within 10 months. The power generated through this plant will be catered to the captive power requirement of the coal company.
Earlier in 2014, MCL had set up a 2MW solar power plant in Sambalpur itself.
Mahanadi Coalfields has set itself a target of installing 182 MW of solar power by the year 2024. This is to become a net-zero energy company and align itself to the use of green and cleaner form of energy for coal production.
The subsidiary of Coal India had earlier introduced environment-friendly surface miner technology, contributing over 95 per cent to coal production. As another environment-friendly initiative, the company has successfully introduced vertical rippers for blast-less over-burden removal in Hingula and Kaniha opencast projects.
Reference: Livemint