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· The auto manufacturer has used over 85% green energy to power operations for six months between July and December 2023
· 100% green energy used in September 2023
Chennai, February 22, 2024: Taking ahead its commitment to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2045, Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL), the automotive manufacturer located in Oragadam, Chennai, has announced that it has predominantly used green power for its operations during the second half of 2023. On an average, the plant utilized more than 85% green energy every month between July and December 2023, with 100% green energy utilization in September 2023. RNAIPL uses a combination of in-house and externally sourced green energy to produce cars.
Keerthi Prakash, Managing Director, RNAIPL, said: “RNAIPL is committed to reducing the environmental impact of our operations and last year, we announced our comprehensive plan for achieving carbon neutral operations by the year 2045 and becoming water positive by the year 2030. Our latest green energy milestone, with an average use of 85% green energy in the second half of 2023, demonstrates our unwavering dedication to sustainability. We are committed to further enhancing our environmental stewardship and contributing to a more sustainable future.”
Utilizing Green Energy for Sustainable Operations
RNAIPL uses a three-pillared approach as part of its roadmap to carbon neutrality. These pillars are increasing the share of green energy in the overall mix, aggressively improving efficiencies in energy usage and continuous adoption of energy efficient technology at its Oragadam plant.
RNAIPL’s energy portfolio includes a mix of conventional power supplied by the government and various green power sources such as solar power, wind power, and bagasse/cogen power. RNAIPL has plans to transition to 100% consistent renewable energy usage by 2045.
RNAIPL has an in-house solar plant with a capacity of 2.2 MW, which feeds directly into the plant’s power grid, with additional plans to expand capacity to up to 14 MW in the next few years. Additionally, other green power is sourced from external suppliers located in Tamil Nadu. Wind power is sourced from wind farms from Tirunelveli/ Coimbatore, a geographical area that is naturally well placed to harness wind power. Additionally, solar power is sourced from solar farms in Tirupur region.
Between July and December 2023, RNAIPL used on an average more than 85% green energy in its overall energy mix. Notably, in September 2023, RNAIPL achieved a significant milestone by operating entirely (100%) on green power wherein close to half of the total power was sourced from wind farms (49%). Nearly one-third of the power was supplied by bagasse/cogen power (30%) and the rest by solar power including the in-house solar plant which provided 3% of the total power requirements for the month.
Through its consistent and conscious utilization of green energy, RNAIPL has managed to cut down over 30,000 tons of CO2 emissions between July and December 2023.
Other sustainability initiatives
In addition to renewable energy, the plant is implementing several other strategies to reduce its environmental impact. Water management through rainwater harvesting, effective recycling and reuse of wastewater as well as rejuvenation of water bodies in the community are part of RNAIPL’s plan to achieve Water Positive status by 2030. At this time, RNAIPL will be releasing more water back to the environment than it extracts. The plant is also actively working on reducing the energy utilized to manufacture a car. Between 2019 and 2030, the plant is working on achieving a 20% reduction in energy required for producing one vehicle. This will be reduced by a further 30% by 2045.