Informist, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024

HYDERABAD – Reliance Industries Ltd. Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up 500 compressed biogas plants in the state in the next three years at an estimated investment of INR 650 billion. The agreement was signed between Reliance Bioenergy Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Bashir Shirazi and Andhra Pradesh Energy Principal Secretary K. Vijayanand.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said each plant will require an investment of nearly INR 1.30 billion. The state government will allocate 1,000–1,200 acres of land for each plant as per requirement. Naidu said each plant will generate 7,800 tonnes of biogas per day and generate fermented manure, which will be used for organic farming and soil rejuvenation.

This is Reliance Industries' largest investment in clean energy outside Gujarat. The Andhra Pradesh government has introduced incentives for biogas projects under a recently notified clean energy policy. The incentives include a capital subsidy of 20% on fixed capital investments in compressed biogas plants and full reimbursement of state goods and services tax and electricity duty for five years.

Naidu said Andhra Pradesh has nearly 4.5 mln acres of wasteland that can be used for clean energy projects. On completion, the project is expected to generate 20 million jobs in the state and generate revenue of INR 28 billion every year.

This is the second MoU by the Reliance Industries arm with the Andhra Pradesh government for compressed biogas. The company had in February entered into an agreement with the state to set up eight plants at an estimated investment of INR 10.24 billion. The latest MoU is an extension of the earlier one with a substantial increase in the number of units and investment, a state government official said. The government had earlier allotted 302 acres of land for eight projects.

On Tuesday, shares of Reliance Industries ended at INR 1274.25 on the National Stock Exchange, up 0.1% from its previous close. End

Reported by Narayana Krishna

Edited by Saji George Titus

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