Auto Major Mahindra & Mahindra Sets Up 58 MWp Captive Solar Plant

Mumbai-headquartered auto major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is adopting a 58 MWp captive solar plant that is expected to generate about 100 million units of power annually beginning 2022.

Located in Parbhani district in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, the solar plant will be built, owned, and operated for a period of 25 years by ReNew Sunlight Energy Private Limited, a 100 per cent subsidiary of ReNew Power Private Limited, said M&M in a statement.

The company expects the project to quadruple its renewable power share from 12 per cent to 56 per cent across Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Nashik, Pune, Igatpuri and Nagpur, and mitigate 79,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. This is equivalent to nurturing 3.7 million trees every year or providing a year’s supply of power to about 20,650 Indian households, added M&M.

“We are committed to achieving our target of carbon neutrality by 2040 and are well on the way to reduce carbon emissions across our manufacturing operations. This new captive solar plant will further our sustainability journey and make a significant contribution in protecting the environment and contributing to Government of India’s solar power target of achieving 175 GW by 2022,” said Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd.

The company has stated that its journey of mitigating carbon emissions across its manufacturing locations and using renewable energy started with its first project of 0.06 MW at Igatpuri plant, and now, with this captive solar plant, it hopes to reach a capacity of 78 MWp.

M&M also said that it was the first company globally to commit to doubling its energy productivity through the EP 100 initiative. We are also committed to having all our locations certified as ‘Zero Waste’ by 2030, and under our ‘Hariyali Program’, we plant five million tress/ year, with more than 19 million trees already planted, the automotive manufacturer added.

Last year, India’s leading car maker revealed that its wholly-owned renewables subsidiary, Mahindra Renewables, had sold its entire stake in three subsidiaries for about Rs 340 crore to CLP India, an arm of Hong Kong-based CLP Group.