PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, May 24: Reaffirming Tata Group’s commitment toward sustainable manufacturing, Tata Power and Tata Motors have joined hands for the development of a 7 MWp solar rooftop project at Tata Motors’ Passenger Vehicle Plant at Chikhali in Pune.
This is the third phase of a joint 17 MWp on-site solar project developed by the two companies, of which a 10 MWp has been installed earlier.
With this latest installation, the Tata Motors PV manufacturing unit, installed by Tata Power, will become home to India’s largest on-site solar project.
Both the companies recently inked a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for this solar project. A significant step towards building a resilient and sustainable future, the installation is collectively expected to generate 23 million units of electricity, mitigating 5.23 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide.
This will be equivalent to planting 8.36 lakh trees over a lifetime.
Commenting on the project, Rajesh Khatri, vice-president, Operations, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., said, “Tata Motors has been working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions to achieve Net Zero Emission goal. With a fresh agreement to install an additional Roof Top solar plant of 7 MWp in our Pune plant in association with Tata Power, we will move closer to our goal of 100 per cent renewable energy. Post commissioning of this capacity, we will become the largest onsite solar installation in India.”
Tata Motors, as a signatory to the RE100, is committed to using 100 percent renewable energy in its operations and has taken many steps toward this objective by gradually increasing the proportion of renewable energy used in its operations.
The company generated 92.39 million kWh of renewable electricity in FY22, accounting for almost 19.4% of total power usage. The company also plans to obtain renewable energy with greater rigour to reach its goal of procuring 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Speaking on the project expansion, Gurinder Singh Sandhu, Chief – New Business Services, Tata Power said, “India’s largest on-site solar project at Tata Motors’ Pune plant is a testament to our shared goal of being green in our businesses. The project reinforces Tata Power’s position as one of India’s top renewable energy players, offering considerable value to its partners through its project execution capabilities and technical expertise.”
Tata Power is successful in executing multiple large solar rooftop solutions including one of the world’s largest rooftops (16MW) at a single location at Radhasoami Satsang Beas (RSSB), Amritsar; 2.67MW at Cochin International Airport; one of the world’s largest solar-powered cricket stadium-Cricket Club of India (CCI) with 820.8 kWp capacity; unique installation of the solar vertical farm (120kW) at Dell Technologies at Bangalore and 1.4MW floating solar at Tata Chemicals, Nellore.
In addition, Tata Power is carrying out an extensive pan-India residential rooftop program to make people aware of the benefits of savings through solar energy.
