Skoda goes Green, Installs 1 MW Rooftop Solar at Aurangabad Plant

Updated on 06/11/18

Solar energy company, Fourth Partner Energy has commissioned its 980 kWp carport for Škoda Auto India Private Ltd. at the company’s manufacturing facility in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The carport is spread over an area of 8,000 square metres and is expected to provide covered parking space for almost 300 cars. The unique design has a span of 18 metres, resting on just two columns and can accommodate three cars in a row. The shed is leak proof and can withstand wind speeds up to 150 km/hr. The carport structure of the designated system will cover 30 percent of the plant’s annual energy consumption by generating 1,475 MWh of power per annum. This solar power generation project is expected to substitute 759 tons of coal usage each year and the carbon offset is equivalent to planting almost 72,000 trees.

Saif Dhorajiwala, Founder, Fourth Partner Energy said, “We are extremely proud to be associated with ŠKODA AUTO India Private Ltd. for this project. Our past experience, design and engineering capabilities, health & safety norms and robust after-service capabilities went a long way in helping us bag the project. Skoda was particularly impressed by how Fourth Partner Energy leverages technology to not only monitor the plant real time but also give access to view the plant’s performance through our indigenously developed remote monitoring app.”

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Skoda India, the Indian wing of Czech automobile major Škoda, which in turn is a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group,  has installed a 1 MW rooftop solar plant at its production facility in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

The rooftop plant is expected to generate nearly 30 percent of the production facility’s energy needs for a year, while also reducing nearly 922 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually from the production process.

Nandakumar Ghodele, the mayor of Aurangabad commented on the development saying, “This project epitomizes adoption of new technologies towards environment-friendly development and the plant demonstrates how energy needs of the local manufacturing bodies can be met through clean and renewable sources like solar.”

The project is built in line with the ‘Green Future’ strategy of Škoda Auto and has been commissioned as part of the ‘India 2.0’ project. This project aims for sustainable development, carbon reduction, and cost optimisation, thereby contribute to India’s solar dream.

Gurpratap Boparai, MD, SKODA Auto India considers the move as enhancing its Green Future vision. He said, “The installation of the Advanced Solar Power Generation Project at our production facility in Aurangabad reinforces our commitment towards building a ‘GREEN FUTURE’. We have taken a small but significant step towards contributing to India’s commitment to the world in reducing carbon footprint.”

India plans to achieve 40 GW of rooftop solar as part of its broader goal of achieving 100 GW of solar capacity across the country by 2022. Of that quota of 40 GW so far only ~ 2.5 GW of rooftop solar installations have been achieved.

Earlier this year, Global giant Walmart’s wholly owned subsidiary in India announced their plans on starting things off in India on a “green foot” by having 17 of its stores in the country run on sustainable practices such as solar energy, water harvesting, and recycling.

At IamRenew, we have consistently advocated the need for corporates to do more for sustainability at this stage, as a business imperative as well as part of their CSR efforts. These efforts are small positive steps, but we need a much larger commitment backed by action on the ground, not in some distant future for the next batch of leaders, but before 2022 and certainly by 2025.  Any grand pledges beyond that are just that, empty air and poor commitment to real change.