Hindustan Zinc's chairman says the company aims to switch over to renewable energy within five to seven years.

Priya Agarwal, chairperson of Hindustan Zinc, said on Tuesday that the miner plans to switch to renewable energy in five to seven years to power its operations.

"We have plenty of thermal power (captive). The plant won't shut down tomorrow. It will take some time but we are committed to ensuring that the transition is successful over time," Agarwal stated at the FT Energy Transition Summit India, held in New Delhi.

Agarwal stated that more than 90% of the emissions from the company are generated by thermal energy. Hindustan Zinc's thermal power capacity is 514 megawatts.

India wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase the use of non-fossil energy in the production of electricity. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended the use of coal in India, citing an increase in energy needs.

Vedanta Ltd., a metals-too-oil conglomerate, controls Vedanta Resource, a UK-based company. Hindustan Zinc is largely owned by the Indian government.

Vedanta's CEO told the media in May that the company will not add any coal-fired power. Sethuraman N R; Sonia Cheema, Editor.

(source: Reuters)