Shares of Ambuja Cements were trading in the green and 1% higher on 19 December after the company announced its plans to invest Rs 6,000 crore to build 1,000 megawatts of renewable power projects with an aim to achieve Adani Group’s net zero goal.

The cement manufacturer is aiming to use green energy for 60% of its 140 million tonnes planned capacity from the current 19%. The company said the investment will be funded through internal accruals.

The investment portfolio will comprise a mix of solar and wind power projects in Gujarat and Rajasthan that will reduce the cost of green energy generation by 20% to 5.16-kilowatt hour from Rs 6.46 kilowatt-hour and increase the supply of green cement.

In its regulatory filing, the company said, “The lineup includes a 600-MW solar power project and 150-MW wind power project in Gujarat and a 250-MW solar power project in Rajasthan. This will be achieved by FY 2026 (200 MW by March 2024) in addition to the existing 84 MW of solar and wind power.”

This investment by the cement manufacturer also promises economic advantages to the company’s planned larger capacity of 140 million tonnes per annum.

The company added, “With lower cost of generation from green power, the power cost will come down from Rs 6.46 per kWh to Rs 5.16 per kWh. A reduction of Rs 1.30 per kWh (20%), which translates into Rs 90 PMT of cement for targeted capacity of 140 MTPA by FY 2028, accelerating the company’s ESG targets.”

At 12:09 pm, the shares of Ambuja Cement had shed all their earlier gains and were trading 0.79% higher at Rs 521.75 on NSE.