CHENNAI: Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland on Wednesday claimed that 60% of the energy employed for its countrywide operations is green.
Currently, at least 75% of its energy consumption in Tamil Nadu and 60% throughout India is channelised through solar rooftop, solar ground mount and wind-based renewable energy sources, the company said.
Hinduja Renewables, part of the Hinduja Group, focused on building sustainable and clean energy plants in India, has built a solar plant for them, with a capacity of 75 MWP in Sivagangai district in Tamil Nadu.
This plant is one of the largest group captive solar plants in India serving a single client. The plant is expected to generate over 120 million units of power annually.
Shom Hinduja, President, Alternative Energy and Sustainability Initiatives at Hinduja Group said, "This project will enable Ashok Leyland to significantly reduce its carbon footprint, thereby helping it achieve its sustainability goals."
"We are evaluating the operations globally and have planned similar environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives across the different companies," added Hinduja.
Vipin Sondhi, MD and CEO, Ashok Leyland, said, "Sourcing energy from this captive solar power plant will ensure abatement of 85000 tonnes of carbon emissions which is equal to planting 157487 trees, annually. We are committed to this path of sustainability and will work towards a greener tomorrow."
The journey for this solar plant started in May 2020. The solar panels are in a fixed-tilt mounting arrangement for peak energy production. Drones were used to relay back real-time information and progress. The plant was commissioned in nine months.
The latest software and applications are installed for real-time monitoring and optimisation. The company has implemented smart maintenance using data analytics. Preventive and predictive maintenance systems will ensure the best-in-class capacity utilisation factor during the plant's entire lifecycle.
The solar plant uses robotic cleaning technology for regular cleaning of solar modules. This innovative methodology is estimated to conserve 9 million litres of water annually.