Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) is investing $10 billion in green energy in Jamnagar, the same Indian city where it operates the world’s biggest oil refining complex. The company has recently set up a new green venture that will take over 5,000 acres of land where it would build factories that produce solar panels, fuel cells, electrolyzers, and batteries. Analysts said Reliance’s green venture is a welcomed shift, but they doubted that the company would dissociate from the polluting fossil fuel businesses.
Reliance earned a net profit of INR537.4 billion($7.2 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 2021. Its oil-related business accounted for nearly 60% of its $73 billion revenues that year. Analysts estimate that when Reliance’s energy business takes off around 2026, it will contribute only 10% to the company’s EBITDA, while the oil business will stay at about 33%.
