Maruti Suzuki India Limited has announced that it has set up a 20 MWp1 solar power plant at its Manesar facility to ensure the maximum utilization of renewable energy in its operations.
Equivalent to the energy required to produce more than 67,000 units, the power plant will contribute 28,000 MWH2 annually to the group's manufacturing unit.
This isn't the first time that the Delhi-headquartered OEM took the initiative to utilize renewable energy to facilitate its operations. In 2014, the company installed its first solar power plant of 1 MWp capacity at its Manesar facility, which was later expanded to 1.3 MWp. Spreading the initiative across their plants, Maruti Suzuki commissioned a 5 MWp carport style photovoltaic solar power plant at its Gurugram factory in 2020.
With the addition of their latest solar plant at the Manesar facility, the company's combined solar power generation capacity, across its plants, amounts to 26.3 MWp. The expansion will ensure that the company steers clear of at least 20,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Hisashi Takeuchi, MD, and CEO said, "Harnessing renewable energy is the need of the hour. We are committed to the government's vision of making India rich in the use of renewable energy sources. Further, taking ahead Prime Minister's vision shared at the COP26 meet, our efforts are aligned towards encouraging decarbonization in a bid to bring down emissions. Our company has been committed to the cause of expanding the use of sustainable energy options to optimize our operations. The power generation from this initiative will constitute over 11.5 percent of the power requirement of the facility at Manesar. We continue to constantly enhance our efforts to expand the use of clean resources in our operations."
The company says the power plant is inspired by the East-West direction concept and installed in such a way that a minimal amount of land is used for maximum generation. It can accommodate at least 9,000 finished vehicles inside the facility.