Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), a manufacturer of commercial trucks and luxury buses, has entered into a power purchase agreement with Zelestra India to procure 16.2 MW of renewable energy. The energy, generated from wind and solar assets in Tamil Nadu, will supply 29 GWh annually to DICV’s manufacturing facility in Oragadam, near Chennai.

DICV produces trucks and buses under the BharatBenz brand, along with Daimler Trucks’ FUSO, Mercedes-Benz, and Freightliner brands at its Chennai plant. The company has been expanding its renewable energy usage to align with its sustainability goals.

Zelestra, which has a portfolio of clean energy projects across seven states in India, was among the winners of SJVN’s auction in October 2024 to supply firm and dispatchable renewable energy. It secured a contract to provide 140 MW at a tariff of Rs 4.25/kWh.

Earlier in 2024, DICV achieved 100% renewable energy utilisation at its Oragadam plant. The facility's solar project, consisting of 15,000 solar panels, reached a peak capacity of 4,300 kW, contributing 17% to the company’s overall renewable energy consumption.

Daimler has been actively working towards transitioning all its production sites to green power. Its facilities in India and Japan are already shifting to renewable energy sources, while production sites in the USA are also being converted. The company aims for all global production sites to be carbon-neutral by 2039, with at least 55 per cent of its energy needs met through renewable sources by 2030.

In 2024, Daimler generated 35,747 MWh of renewable energy, meeting 70 per cent of its electricity needs and 12 per cent of its district heating requirements through green energy. It utilises multiple contractual instruments to source renewable energy, including green power purchase agreements and supply contracts with electricity providers.

News source: Mercom India