Vedanta to raise up to ₹4,000 cr
Vedanta has sharply increased its focus on energy generation over the past two years. Last month, Serentica Renewables, a renewable power company promoted by Agarwal’s Sterlite Power, said it would invest ₹25,000 crore to expand its projects portfolio to about 4 GW by June 2025. Sterlite will first commission 600 MW of renewable energy projects and add 500 MW of capacity in each subsequent quarter.
In September, Serentica received ₹2,600 crore from PFC for its hybrid renewable energy projects in Karnataka, which are being built to meet captive energy needs of Vedanta group companies.
The latest financing follows Vedanta group’s takeover of Meenakshi Energy on 28 December via an NCLT-driven insolvency process. Meenakshi Energy has a coal-based power plant at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, which Vedanta will use to supply power to merchants.
In August 2022, the Londonheadquartered mining giant acquired Athena Chhattisgarh Power Ltd for ₹565 crore to meet its captive power requirements. Athena Chhattisgarh currently has a 1.2GW coalbased power plant at JhanjgirChampa district.
The acquisition will fulfil the power requirement of Vedanta’s aluminium business, and through vertical integration, may result in a cost advantage in terms of power consumption.
Athena’s plant, built close to Mahanadi river, is about 80 km from the Balco aluminium factory, and about 180 km from the industrial hub of Jharsuguda, and is connected by national highways and railway stations.
Vedanta’s power strategy is in focus amid the group’s ongoing demerger. While the demerger proposal awaits creditors’ approval, the company’s shares have jumped over 33% in the past three months, hitting 52-week highs in a few sessions this month.
“The development demonstrates Vedanta’s capital-raising ability from diverse sources to fuel the growth of its portfolio and to build world-class assets. [The stock] has seen buying activity from domestic and international funds,” said the person mentioned earlier.
The company recently announced the commissioning of a new 1.5 metric tonnes per annum expansion at its alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, Odisha. This additional capacity will take the overall nameplate capacity at the Lanjigarh refinery from 2 mtpa to 5 mtpa. Vedanta Sesa Goa also commenced mining operations at the Bicholim mineral block, adding to its growth plans.