Shree Cement sharpens focus on green generation

Shree Cement Ltd, India’s third largest cement manufacturer by capacity, is pleased to announce that it has reached a historic milestone of one gigawatt (1,000 megawatts) of installed electricity capacity.

This achievement was highlighted by the commissioning of a 19.5 MW solar power plant at its manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh.

The 1 GW capacity consists of a mix of solar, wind, thermal, and waste heat recovery power facilities, demonstrating Shree Cement’s diverse approach to satisfying cement manufacturing electricity demands.

Significant investments of ₹ 4000 crore have been undertaken to enhance the renewable portfolio, which now accounts for approximately 50 percent of the installed electricity capacity (499 MW). Notably, Shree Cement’s 244 MW capacity from waste heat recovery is among the largest in the global cement sector.

Looking ahead, an estimated outlay of ₹ 1000 crore is planned for FY25 to install more RE capacity. This would include 132 MW of solar capacity in five states—Jharkhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, 36 MW of wind power in Rajasthan, and 34 MW of waste heat recovery capacity in Karnataka and Rajasthan.

Commenting on this milestone, Neeraj Akhoury, Managing Director of Shree Cement, says, “Achieving a power capacity portfolio of this size ensures that we have abundant electricity to power our existing cement production and expansion projects. We will contribute the surplus power to states and the central grid.”

“Significant integration of green electricity has helped us produce cement more sustainably and cost-effectively. Today, nearly 56 percent of our power requirement is met from renewable resources, which is the highest in the Indian cement industry. We aim to set a benchmark for sustainability within the cement sector and inspire positive change throughout the industry,” Mr. Akhoury added.

Shree Cement recently confirmed its participation in the RE100 programme, aiming to use 100 percent renewable electricity for all activities by 2050. Shree Cement has been a pioneer in adopting innovative technology to reduce non-renewable resource usage and emissions. The organisation is also looking into sophisticated strategies to increase renewable electricity utilisation, such as battery storage, pump storage, and green hydrogen.

Shree Cement is on pace to become a modern and environmentally friendly construction materials company, with plans to boost current capacity from 56.4 MTPA to 80 million metric tonnes by 2028.

For more information, visit: https://www.shreecement.com/