Maruti Suzuki installs Asia’s largest 20 MWp carport type Solar Plant at Manesar

Reinforcing its commitment to maximize the use of renewable energy in operations, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (Company) has set up a 20 MWp¹ solar power plant at its Manesar facility. The initiative will contribute 28,000 MWH² per annum of company’s energy requirements. The power generated would be equivalent to the energy required for the production of over 67,000 cars annually.

Maruti Suzuki has been harnessing solar energy since 2014, when it installed the first solar power plant of 1 MWp capacity at its Manesar facility, which was later expanded to 1.3 MWp. Taking this initiative ahead, Maruti Suzuki commissioned a 5 MWp carport style photovoltaic solar power plant at its Gurugram facility in 2020. With the new 20 MWp solar plant at Manesar, the Company’s combined solar power generation capacity, across its plants, now stands at 26.3 MWp. This expansion will lead to avoidance of 20,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year.

Speaking about Maruti Suzuki’s focus on use of renewable energies, Mr. Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & 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 Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision shared at the COP26 meet, our efforts are aligned towards encouraging decarbonisation 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 % 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 20 MWp car-port style solar power plant is thoughtfully designed with lowest area per unit power generation using the East-West direction concept, maximizing generation using minimum land. The facility has space to park about 9,000 finished vehicles.

Maruti Suzuki’s parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation, in its mid-term management plan, has prioritized carbon reduction in its products and manufacturing processes. Aligned to this plan, Maruti Suzuki is also committed to implement environment friendly initiatives for carbon reduction.

*A solar carport is an overhead shade designed as parking area shelter with solar panels mounted on them.

1: MWH = MegaWatt Hour

2: MWp = MegaWatt Peak