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Essar Power, one of Essar Global Fund's key investments in the Energy portfolio, has commissioned its first flue gas scrubber at the Essar Power Hazira (EPHL) facility. The scrubber is designed to bring down the sulphur dioxide in flue gas by 25 per cent, going a long way in checking emissions and helping the environment.

With an aim to further its Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) goals, Essar has been encouraging its businesses to transition to green operations and invest in technologies that reduce their carbon footprint.

Commenting on the milestone Kush, CEO -- Essar Power, said "Essar Power believes in running its operations with minimal environmental impact. The commissioning of scrubber has been accomplished despite the challenges we faced due to the pandemic.

"With the first one completed, we shall surely look at replicating it at other facilities of ours in future. Such eco-initiatives are part of Essar Power's strategic plan to transition to green operations."

Team involved with the project has put in place an innovative approach, wherein the scrubber was optimised as per the coal quality being supplied, and the emission norms targeted. In fact, the project was fast-tracked while maintaining all safety precautions, and executed without a single reportable incident.

The Covid-19 situation and related constraints did pose challenges for the project, both in terms of supply of material, as well as manpower. However, the company adapted to the situation and all work at site was carried out with strict adherence to safety protocols, Essar Power said in a statement.

Precautions such as social distancing, wearing of face mask, day time working in view of night curfew, etc., were followed. All external manpower was screened using the RT-PCR testing, and a vaccination drive was carried out to strengthen the herd immunity within the facility. By having most fabrication work carried out on the site itself, EPHL not just ensured quality but also maintained a consistent pace of work, the statement added.

EPHL is part of Essar Power, which is India's one of the first private sector independent power producers with a power generating capacity of 2,070 MW across four plants in India and Canada.

The company also has a 465-km interstate transmission system which spans across three Indian states.

Essar Power (EPOL) forms part of the energy portfolio of Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), whose investments are managed by Essar Capital.

EPOL recently announced its plan to foray into renewable energy starting with investment of Rs 300 crore in a 90 MWP PV Solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh.