Mahanadi Coalfields to build 50-MW solar plant in Odisha's Sambalpur

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) will build a 50-megawatt solar power plant in Sambalpur, Odisha, at Rs 301.92 crore as part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2024.

The public sector unit said in a release on Saturday that this project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 91,020 tonne per year and generate carbon offsets of around 24,824 tonne per year.

MCL, based in Sambalpur, has placed an order with a Chennai-based company to set up this green energy project within 10 months.

The plant will meet MCL's captive power needs, as the company previously built a 2-MW solar power plant in Sambalpur in 2014.

To become a net-zero energy company by 2024, the MCL has set a goal of installing 182 MW of solar power, aligning itself to use cleaner forms of energy for coal production.

Coal India's subsidiary had previously introduced environmentally friendly surface miner technology, which now accounts for more than 95% of the country's coal production.

The company has successfully introduced vertical rippers for blast-less overburden removal in the Hingula and Kaniha opencast projects as another environmentally-friendly initiative.

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) is one of India's largest coal producers. It is one of Coal India Limited's eight subsidiaries. In 1992, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited was formed by the merger of South Eastern Coalfields Limited and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited. Its headquarters are in Sambalpur. Its coal mines are strewn across Odisha. It has a total of three underground mines and seven open cast mines.

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