Ambani, Adani offer to invest in 25 GW Andhra renewable power projects
09 Mar 2023
Two of India’s major business groups run by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani have offered to invest in major renewable projects in Andhra Pradesh that would add a combined 25 GW to the state’s renewable power capacity.
25 gigawatts of renewable power in Andhra Pradesh, as the fossil fuels-led groups continue to plow ahead with their green energy goals.
Addressing an investors’ gathering organised by the state government on Friday, Ambani, Asia’s richest person and chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd, said his group will invest in 10 gigawatt solar power projects in the state.
Speaking at the Global Investors Summit 2023 in Visakhapatnam on Friday, Mukesh Ambani said that Reliance has been among the first corporates to believe in the stupendous economic potential of Andhra Pradesh.
Ambani said that there is an all pervasive confidence that Andhra will emerge as a leading player in new India's growth story.
Karan Adani, chief executive officer of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, said his group is committed to constructing 15 gigawatts of renewables capacity across five districts over the next few years.
Adani has proposed to set up two cement plants in the state with a combined capacity of 10 million tonnes.
Adani also proposed to double capacity of its Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports by adding another 100 million tonnes per annum in the next five years. It is also looking to transform these large ports into industrial port cities.
Besides, the group is working on developing a 400-megawatt data center in Visakhapatnam.
The investment commitments by the two groups —both important players in India’s energy transition journey — are also a vote of confidence for Andhra Pradesh, which for a long time rattled clean energy investors with its plan to renegotiate power purchase contracts.
Neither group shared details of investment plans for these projects in Andhra Pradesh.
For both Reliance and Adani, whose early fortunes were tied to fossil fuels like petroleum and coal, diversification into renewables with ambitious green energy goals is more of an opportunity than an obligation.
Reliance and Adani groups already have significant presence in the state, with the former operating its offshore deep-sea gas fields in the Krishna-Godavari basin and the latter overseeing two large ports.
The investment commitments by the two groups — both important players in India’s energy transition journey — are also a vote of confidence for Andhra Pradesh, which for a long time rattled clean energy investors with its plan to renegotiate power purchase contracts.
With the contracts dispute behind them, investors are now looking to harness the rich sunshine and wind of the stat