5th June 2023 – 2045 Carbon Neutral – Ahead of World Environment Day 2023, Renault Nissan Automotive Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) revealed that it is making significant progress towards its 2045 Carbon Neutrality goal, which was announced in February this year, and that it will cross many important sustainability milestones by 2030.

RNAIPL’s carbon neutrality strategy includes three major pathways: increasing the amount of green Energy in the total mix, aggressively improving energy efficiencies, and continual deployment of energy efficient technology at its Oragadam facility. As of fiscal year 2022-23, the plan has already allowed the automaker to save the equivalent of 87,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

2045 Carbon Neutral

Increasing the use of renewable energy in plant operations

RNAIPL presently derives about 60% of its electricity from renewable sources such as solar, biomass, and wind. By 2026, the company will increase its in-house solar plant capacity from 2.2MW to 14MW by installing more rooftop solar panels and revolutionary floating solar panels on the factory’s pond. RNAIPL is seeking to meet 85% of the plant’s energy needs with Renewable Energy by 2030, and 100% renewable energy by 2045, through utilising renewable energy sources.

Increasing the use of green energy in plant operations

RNAIPL presently gets about 60% of its energy from renewable sources like solar, biomass, and wind. By 2026, the factory will increase the capacity of its in-house solar plant from 2.2MW to 14MW by installing more rooftop solar panels and revolutionary floating solar panels on the site’s pond. RNAIPL is working to meet 85% of the plant’s energy needs with renewable energy by 2030, and to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045, through utilising renewable energy sources.

RNAIPL is already recognised as the Renault Nissan Alliance facility with the least reliance on external water supplies because to its rainwater gathering and water recycling infrastructure, and it is on track to become water-positive by 2030. RNAIPL currently covers 85% of its entire water needs through rainwater collection ponds created on the campus. The factory is also a Zero Discharge facility, recovering and reusing wastewater for industrial processes and a range of applications, including gardening. RNAIPL intends to improve water efficiency even further through updated plumbing designs, water audits, and tight monitoring, with a 21% reduction in water use by 2030 compared to FY 2022-23 levels.

Alternatives to single-use plastic

RNAIPL has already been working on a number of projects to replace single-use plastic goods within the plant with eco-friendly alternatives in accordance with government guidelines. The corporation also runs frequent employee efforts to raise awareness about the drawbacks and environmental impact caused by single-use plastic.

Initiatives to improve energy efficiency at the plant level

Since the facility began producing cars in FY 2010, it has reduced energy use by 36%. It accomplished this outstanding result using a combination of plant-wide conservation approaches and technological advancements.

Among these initiatives are the following:

Intelligent flow controllers for air compressor systems cut energy consumption by 800 tonnes per year, saving 800 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

LED lighting upgrades shop infrastructure

Implementing zero-energy days and closely monitoring energy consumption on other holidays

Standardised equipment stickering throughout the plant for optimal use and energy conservation

Upgrading to energy-saving equipment such as BLDC blowers, compact ejectors, and VFD for pumps and motors

Installation of a water source heat pump as an alternative to an LPG-powered hot water generator at the Paint shop, as well as the use of both hot and cold water (by-product) for industrial processes, resulting in a 6% reduction in CO2 emissions.

The factory seeks to cut the amount of energy required to build a car by 20% by 2030 (relative to the 2019 energy baseline) and 30% by 2045.

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