Hinduja Group flagship commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland on Wednesday said it has increased the sourcing of clean energy to 60% for its countrywide operations. Now, 75% of its energy consumption in Tamil Nadu and 60% throughout India is procured through the solar rooftop, solar ground mount, and wind-based renewable energy.
Hinduja Renewables, part of the Hinduja Group, is focused on building sustainable and clean energy plants in India and has built a solar plant for Ashok Leyland, with a capacity of 75 MWp, located 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 & sustainability initiatives at Hinduja Group said, “ Hinduja Renewables was set up to be the bridge between nations and companies to achieve their sustainability targets. This project will enable Ashok Leyland to significantly reduce its carbon footprint, thereby helping it achieve its sustainability goals. The Hinduja Group is evaluating its operations globally and has planned similar ESG initiatives across the different companies.”
The solar plant was commissioned in nine months and is expected to generate over 120 million units of power annually. The company has implemented smart maintenance using data analytics. This project generated 500 direct jobs during the development phase and 20+ permanent jobs for plant operations.
Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, Ashok Leyland, said, “With the start of operations of the Vepancolum Solar Plant, we have taken a massive leap in reducing our carbon footprint – of the total energy requirement, we will achieve renewable energy consumption of 75% in Tamil Nadu and 60% throughout India.
Sourcing energy from this captive solar power plant will ensure abatement of 85,000 tonne of carbon emissions which is equal to planting 1,57,487 trees, annually. We are committed to this path of sustainability and will work towards a greener tomorrow.”
Today, all plants of Ashok Leyland harvest rainwater, have low flow water systems to minimise water consumption and recycle all waste to avoid it going to the landfills. This has led Ashok Leyland to be a net water positive company.
In line with Ashok Leyland’s water positive initiative, 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.
