New Delhi:
Furthering its long-term commitment to sustainability, leading tire maker Apollo Tires announced on Thursday that it has secured green power for its manufacturing plant in Chennai, its largest. This will increase the share of renewable energy to more than 30% of this manufacturing plant’s total, the tire maker said in a statement.Apollo Tires has invested in CSE Deccan Solar, a subsidiary of Cleantech Solar, INR 9.3 crore for a 27.2% stake to secure a guaranteed annual supply of 40 million units of electricity for its Chennai facility . Considering that solar energy is only produced for a few hours a day and that there is no storage facility available, the company has opted for an offtake of an optimal amount, which is around 20% of total requirements in Chennai, the company added.
Sunam Sarkar, President and Chief Commercial Officer of Apollo Tires Ltd, said, “This investment to secure solar power to our Chennai facility is one of many initiatives we are undertaking for a sustainable future. The solar power we are securing with this investment will help us become self-sufficient for our electricity needs for critical equipment and reinforce our commitment to reducing carbon emissions.
Since the solar energy tariff is fixed for the next two decades in India and is currently lower than the unit tariff of the State Electricity Board, the company is also considering cost savings through this agreement with Cleantech Solar . Solar power supply to Apollo Tires facility in Chennai is expected to start in July this year.
Apollo Tires has an installed production capacity of approximately 900 metric tons of tires per day in Chennai, which includes passenger car tires and light, medium and heavy duty truck tires.
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“Budgetary allocations for expanding domestic manufacturing capabilities, such as the PLI program, will help spur the growth of renewable energy – this should give impetus to the manufacturing of clean energy equipment such as solar panels, electrolysers, batteries and wind turbines,” Sumant Sinha, chief executive officer (CEO) of ReNew Power, one of the largest independent power producers (IPPs) in clean energy, told ETEnergyWorld.
For the use of green hydrogen, there is another problem that needs to be solved. Experiments are also underway for carbon capture and sequestration, which can complement the use of green hydrogen.
