Indian Oil Corporation Limited on Wednesday announced that it will establishment of over 10,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across India in the next three years. Addressing media, Indian Oil Corporation Chairman, SM Vaidya said that among the proposed 10,000 EV charging stations, 2,000 will be set up within the period of twelve months and the remaining 8,000 will be established in two years. "The green initiative by Indian Oil Corporation is following a few past sustainable initiatives including the launch of extra green fuel high-performance diesel oil and XP95 fuel. The purpose behind green initiatives is to align with the net-zero commitment, in turn reducing the carbon mono-oxide emissions," said Vaidya.
The decision is followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s commitment towards promoting non-fossil energy capacity at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow. Vaidya, calling the company''s contributions focused on greener initiatives and in alignment with PM Modi''s vision to enhance non-fossil energy capacity, told reporters, "Indian Oil''s in-line initiatives with the five commitments PM Modi made during the Glasgow conference called Panchamrit."
The EV Chargers, to be launched, will be of three types depending on the type, feasibility, destination and capacity of the vehicle- slow, fast, and heavy-duty charger
"The idea behind such promises is to fundamentally enhance the non-fossil energy capacity of the country to 500 Gigawatts by 2030, meeting 50 per cent of the energy requirements by renewable resources by 2030, reduce projected carbon emissions by 1 billion tons by 2030, reduce the carbon intensity of the economy to less than 45 per cent by 2030 and targeting net-zero by 2070," he said.
"EV Charging stations is a small step by Indian Oil but it will be a giant league for the EV ecosystem. The entire EV ecosystem will get totally enhanced because that will give confidence to the manufacturers,..and a great relief to the buyers", added Vaidya.
The EV Chargers, to be launched, will be of three types depending on the type, feasibility, destination and capacity of the vehicle- slow, fast, and heavy-duty charger.
IOC wants to achieve the set target of 2000 in the coming 12 months
Indian Oil has outlined a list of high priority cities, where the EV will be set up initially. The nine high priorities cities include Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat, and Pune along with other smart cities around the country, to achieve the set target of 2000 in the coming 12 months.
When asked about the hike in fuel prices, the Chairman said, "there s no doubt that the petrol and diesel prices have hiked." hOwever he added that "there is an 8-9 per cent increase in the use of petrol, 1.5 per cent in diesel and even the LPG use has amplified."
He said that the recent economic development is a boon for the country.
"The economic development in the rest of the world is contributing to the hiked crude oil prices. OPEC nations, which minimised the crude oil production owing to less demand during Covid-19 time, are gradually increasing the production. Petroleum Minister and OPEC Secretary had a discussion to increase the supply of crude oil in the market thereby, decreasing the prices. It will not be favourable for anyone if the economic development around the world is centred on crude oil. There should be responsible pricing, favouring both producers and consumers," he added.
