In line with India’s commitment at the COP26 summit in Glasgow last year, the country aims to reach net-zero by 2070.

Furthermore, India seeks to meet 50% of its energy needs by 2030 through renewable sources and expand non-fossil fuel power generation capacity to 500 GW in this decade.

In light of these targets, the Government of India (GoI) has approved a multibillion dollar plan of setting up transmission projects for power supply from these renewable energy projects.

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Setting up ‘green energy corridors’

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India is setting up “green energy corridors” in two phases.

“The Green Energy Corridor Project aims at synchronizing electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with conventional power stations in the grid,” India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy says on its website.

One phase will supply 20 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy to the national grid, the Hindustan Times reported.

Furthermore, the country is in the process of building 63 GW of renewable energy capacity, according to the report. Installed non-fossil fuel power capacity is expected to increase by 66% by 2030.

According to ratings agency ICRA, India’s renewable energy generation capacity will increase by 16 GW in fiscal year 2023.

India aims to cut projected emissions of carbon will by 1 billion tons by 2030.

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The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) rose by 12.7% month over month to 121, as scrap prices made gains this past month.

U.S. steel prices continue to retreat from their 2021 peaks. At the start of the year, hot rolled coil prices sat almost 18% below the October high.

US steelmakers invest in scrap processing

As electric arc furnace (EAF) capacity expands, U.S. steelmakers are working to secure steel scrap supply, as the Wall Street Journal explained in a recent report.

In November, Cleveland-Cliffs purchased Ferrous Processing & Trading Co. for $775 million. The company represents 15% of the U.S. prime market. As Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest steel supplier to the auto sector, the acquisition will allow Cleveland-Cliffs to negotiate scrap collection from its own customers.

Also in November, North Star BlueScope purchased steel-scrap processing operations and the Delta Yard for $240 million from MetalX.

These recent purchases follow Nucor’s own acquisitions of both Garden Street Iron and Metal Inc. and Grossman Iron and Steel Co. Nucor currently operates 65 scrapyards. Its newest additions will serve to feed its forthcoming or expanding mills.

In total, investments from top steelmakers in scrap processors exceeded $1 billion in 2021.

EAFs, which are fed by scrap, currently account for roughly 70% of U.S. steel production. That share is expected to grow in the coming year as even more capacity comes online. Around 8 million tons of flat-rolled steel capacity was added over the past few years and an additional 10 million tons will be added by the end of 2024. North Star BlueScope alone will grow its own steel capacity by around 40% in 2022.

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