Karnataka Hybrid Energy Project Draws Cement Maker Stake

India Cements has agreed to buy a 3.62 per cent stake in a Hyderabad-based renewable energy company, securing 11 MW of clean power for its cement plants. The investment of over ₹20 crore is small, but it touches one of India’s hardest-to-decarbonise industries. Cement is among the largest industrial sources of carbon dioxide, so how manufacturers source electricity matters for the country’s climate goals.

The company signed energy supply and share subscription agreements with Zenataris Renewable Energy Private Limited, according to a filing to the stock exchanges. The deal is due to close within 120 days of signing. Zenataris is a special purpose vehicle, a company set up to build and run a single project. Its project is a hybrid renewable plant at Kudligi in Karnataka’s Vijayanagara district, combining more than one clean source of generation. It is linked to the inter-state transmission system, the high-voltage grid that carries power across state borders. The arrangement follows the group captive model. Under India’s electricity rules, a consumer can claim captive status for power from a generating company only if it holds a minimum share of the equity and uses a minimum share of the output. The cement maker said the stake serves three aims: meeting its green energy needs, trimming energy costs and complying with the captive consumption requirements. Captive status can exempt buyers from certain grid charges, which is why such small shareholdings are common.

Industry experts say the structure makes commercial sense, but they caution that 11 MW is modest next to the demand of a cement operation, where grinding, crushing and kiln processes use large amounts of power. Electricity is also only part of the emissions problem. Most cement emissions come from heating limestone and from the chemical reaction that makes clinker, the main ingredient in cement. Clean power will not remove those.

Energy analysts also note that hybrid projects supply power at varying times of day, so plants may still need grid or storage backup. Environmental specialists add that large solar and wind sites need careful land use, water and community consultation to deliver benefits locally as well as to the buyer. For now, the filing does not say what share of the company’s electricity this will replace, or how much carbon it will avoid. Investors, regulators and nearby communities will want those numbers. The next step for the industry is to publish measurable emission cuts, and to pair clean power purchases with lower-clinker cement and cleaner kilns.

Also Read : Mangalam Cement Urges Investors To Convert Paper Shares

Karnataka Hybrid Energy Project Draws Cement Maker Stake