BALCO pushes the use of green fuel with biomass briquettes

Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) in Chhattisgarh's power hub Korba has begun greenifying its fuel mix for thermal power generation with biomass briquettes.

It is an initiative to minimise the detrimental effect on the environment of using fossil fuel.

The company is utilising around 50 tonnes of biomass briquettes every day to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and increase the quantum of biomass consumption.

With the green initiative, the company intends to decrease BALCO’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission by 4.3 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, achieving the net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050.

As per the guidelines by the Ministry of Power, the biomass briquettes are made from agricultural residues. This initiative will also reduce the burning of agriculture remnants, which possess a harmful impact on the environment. It will further increase farmers income in the region as the Agrarian community can sell their agro-waste profitably.

CEO and Director of BALCO, Abhijit Pati, said there is a greater need to be an active participant in the sustainable growth of India. Such initiative aims to achieve a sustainable future for the later generations. The company is committed to undertaking several initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint.

Director of Bhoomi Agro Produce Private Limited, Pulkit Saxena, said that using green fuels would have a positive impact on the environment and the agro-waste value chain which includes small and marginal farmers.

As a part of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, the company has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) Nagpur for using its green concrete solution for road construction. For achieving 100% fly ash utilisation target, the company is also supplying conditioned fly ash through railway rakes to the cement manufacturers.

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