Maruti Suzuki India has commenced a pilot Biogas plant at its Manesar facility. The company plans to invest nearly Rs 450 crore over the next three years towards renewable energy initiatives, according to the official statement. 'The initiative is in alignment with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's 'Waste to Energy' programme,' the company added.
In FY 2023-24, Maruti Suzuki invested Rs 120.8 crore towards commissioning renewable energy initiatives like solar power and biogas. It has increased the investment approximately fourfold to Rs 450 crore. The pilot plant is designed to produce 0.2 tonnes of biogas daily.
The anticipated output is about 1 lac standard cubic meters of biogas in FY 2024-25. It will offset approximately 190 tonnes of CO2 per annum. The pilot biogas plant will provide energy for the manufacturing processes of the company’s Manesar facility.
"As we ramp up our production capacity from around 2 million to 4 million by 2030-31, we are also accelerating our efforts to increase the share of sustainable and renewable energy sources across our operations," said Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India.
This is in line with Suzuki's 'Environment Vision 2050' and the government's renewable energy focus, he added. "The learning from this pilot biogas plant will be implemented at our upcoming world-class manufacturing facilities,” said Takeuchi. Maruti Suzuki is actively transitioning to green manufacturing practices at its Manesar and Kharkhoda facilities.
The company expanded its solar capacity to 43.2 MWp in the fiscal year 2023-24. Meanwhile, it is on track to add 15 MWp solar capacity to its Manesar plant and 20 MWp to the upcoming Kharkhoda plant over the next two years. This will boost the total solar capacity to reach 78.2 MWp by the fiscal year 2025-26.
