THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 19, 2026
India’s mining and metals giant Vedanta is stepping up its
green transition with a more than $1 billion investment in net-zero initiatives
during FY26, underscoring how large industrial players are increasingly turning
decarbonisation into a core business and investment priority. The company’s
push spans renewable power, cleaner fuels, energy efficiency and
technology-driven interventions, as India simultaneously races to expand its
clean-energy infrastructure.
Vedanta said on Wednesday that its renewable energy
utilisation surged 52 per cent year-on-year to 4 billion units, or 400 crore
units, during 2025-26. The volume is equivalent to the annual electricity
consumption of around 3 crore Indian households, highlighting the growing scale
of renewable power in the group’s operations.
The company currently has nearly 2,000 MW of installed and
contracted renewable energy capacity and is targeting 2.5 GW of round-the-clock
renewable energy capacity by 2030. The expansion is aimed at strengthening the
role of clean power across its energy-intensive metals and mining operations
while reducing its dependence on conventional energy sources.
Vedanta said its decarbonisation initiatives helped avoid
approximately 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in
2025-26. At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions intensity across the
group’s metals and mining production declined by around 14 per cent from the
2020-21 baseline, reflecting the impact of its ongoing efficiency and
clean-energy measures.
The investment comes against the backdrop of India’s
ambitious clean-energy roadmap. The country is targeting 500 GW of non-fossil
fuel-based power capacity by 2030, alongside a broader goal of meeting half of
its energy requirements from renewable sources and achieving net-zero emissions
by 2070.
For the metals and mining sector, India’s energy transition is also emerging as a significant long-term growth opportunity. The massive expansion of renewable generation, transmission networks, electricity grids, energy storage and electrification will require substantial quantities of metals and minerals, placing companies such as Vedanta at the heart of the infrastructure build-out.
With its renewable capacity expansion and billion-dollar decarbonisation investment, Vedanta is positioning its net-zero strategy not merely as an environmental commitment but as a long-term business imperative.
