Dalmia Cement (Bharat) (DCBL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat, will procure up to 11.2 MW of solar power as a captive consumer from Solsolis Solar Energy Solutions in Odisha.

DCBL has entered into a share subscription and shareholders agreement to acquire 26% of Solsolis’ equity. The acquisition consists of 3.02 million equity shares aggregating to an investment of ₹30.2 million (~$361,468) to be made in one or more tranches.

The transaction is expected to be completed within eight months.

Solsolis Solar Energy is a special-purpose vehicle for setting up a captive solar power project in Odisha.

The share acquisition in Solsolis will help Dalmia Cement source solar power as a captive consumer. The project is part of Dalmia Cement’s efforts to achieve its RE100 goals by 2030 and turn carbon negative by 2040.

Dalmia Cement has a total renewable energy capacity of 185 MW, with 19 MW commissioned in 2023-24. The company has a total solar power capacity of 113 MW.

Earlier, Oriana Power, through its subsidiary, Truere Surya, secured a ₹5.2 billion (~$61.94 million) contract from Dalmia Cement to develop a 128 MW ground-mounted solar power project under the open access captive arrangement in Tamil Nadu. In a filing on the National Stock Exchange, Oriana said Dalmia Cement will acquire 26% shares for ₹448 million (~$5.34 million) in Truere Surya.

In 2022, Dalmia Cement expanded its ground-mounted solar project capacity from 2.4 MW to 17.1 MW. The solar project will generate 25.52 million units annually for its Kapilas Cement Manufacturing Works in Odisha.

The trend of commercial and industrial (C&I) units transitioning to using clean energy sources in India is growing. Adopting solar energy to fuel their operations cuts their energy costs and helps these units reduce their carbon footprint and achieve their net-zero goals.