Bhubaneswar: In another significant step towards green growth and industrialisation, Odisha Government on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for exploring the feasibilities of setting up green energy and hydrogen plants in the state.
The MoU was signed between Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation ( IPICOL) and BPCL in Lokseba Bhawan in the presence of a high -level team led by Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra and Development Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena.
Senior officers of BPCL led by Chairman and Managing Director Arun Kumar Singh participated. Principal Secretary, Industry department, Hemant Kumar Sharma outlined objectives of the MoU.
MD of IPICOL Bhupendra Singh Poonia and Executive Director, Renewable Energy, BPCL, Amit Garg signed the agreement.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Secretary said “Odisha has high potential for production of green energy from ethanol, solar and hydrogen”. He assured that State Government would push forward the green energy project in a big way, and BPCL would be provided all support from grounding for commissioning the projects.
Development Commissioner said Odisha as a lead state in metal and petrochemical investment destination would like to produce and utilise more green energy in different sectors for arresting carbon footprints.
Highlighting the growing demand of green energy, Chairman and MD BPCL Singh said “Many parts of Odisha have great potential for production of solar and green based ethanol energy and hoped that the present project would meet its target within the specified time limit.”
Sources said, BPCL aspires to lead the green energy sector through combination of skill and technology. The company targeted to build a renewable energy production capacity of 10 gigawatts comprising a mix of solar, wind, small hydro and biomass by 2040.
Principal Secretary, Energy, Nikunjabihari Dhal; Principal Secretary, Finance, Vishal Kumar Dev; Retail Head BPCL Debashish Naik; State Head BPCL Priyadarshi Nanda along with senior officers from State Government and BPCL highlighted upon the potential for production of green energy, and its growing market within Odisha itself.
