Maruti Suzuki India announced that it will harness solar power to meet its energy needs. The company recently laid the foundation stone for a 5 MW Solar Power plant at the Gurugram facility. The  solar power plant is expected to be commissioned in FY 2019-20. The power generated from the solar power plant will be synchronised with the captive power plant to cater to the internal energy needs like the production facilities and even the offices at the Gurugram plant.

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The Company will invest around ₹ 240 Million, and will offset CO2 emissions to the tune of over 5390 tonnes annually, for the next 25 years. This is the second grid based Solar Power plant for Maruti Suzuki. The 1st Solar Power plant was set up in 2014 at Manesar, with a capacity of 1 MW, which in 2018, was further expanded to 1.3 MW. The photovoltaic solar panels of this carport style solar power plant will work as a roof at the new car parking area. While the solar panels generate clean energy, the cars parked underneath will be safe from the sun.

Kenichi Ayukawa, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said, "Solar energy is abundant, versatile and efficient. This Solar Power initiative is in line with the Company's philosophy to adopt environment friendly technologies and lower CO2 emissions. Through this solar power plant facility we will harness renewable energy for our business needs over next 25 years. Maruti Suzuki is committed to expand its environment care initiatives in products, in manufacturing processes and in business operations."

It is to be noted that the company depends on cleaner and renewable sources of energy which form 95 per cent of its total energy use. The energy requirement at the manufacturing facilities is met by Natural Gas-based captive power plant, supported by grid power. The new solar power plant will complement the power generating capability at the manufacturing plant.

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