Go green, new power mantra at Infosys

Commits to get cent per cent electricity from renewables.

March 05, 2015 07:38 pm | Updated 10:44 pm IST - MUMBAI

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 27/02/2015: Solar power project is being installed at Madras Christian College at Tambaram near Chennai on February 27, 2015.
Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 27/02/2015: Solar power project is being installed at Madras Christian College at Tambaram near Chennai on February 27, 2015. Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

Infosys has embarked on a road map to power its entire electricity requirement from renewable sources by 2018, going by the current trend of global organisations shifting to clean energy.

The company is planning to invest in 175 MW of solar plants by March, 2018. It did not disclose the amount to be invested.

But going by the market rate of Rs.7-8 crore cost per MW of solar-based power plant, the company will invest Rs.1,200-1,400 crore.

In 2013-14, Infosys used 75.6 million units of green power, roughly 30 per cent of the overall electricity requirements of its campuses.

The company has installed 2 MW captive solar PV inside its campuses and plans to add another 20 MW in the next two years. The balance of the planned capacity will come up offsite.

“We aim to move towards cleaner energy sources, and have committed to getting 100 per cent of our electricity from renewables, estimated at 175 MW by 2017-18,” said Infosys Regional Manager (Infrastructure) Guruprakash Sastry.

“We are exploring investment opportunities in different States and are evaluating local solar policies and open access options to achieve the green power target. We may procure power or invest in green energy project depending on the State policies,” he said.

Consumption For 2013-14, the energy consumption of Infosys was about 250 million kWh (1 kWh = one unit).In the last six years, though the company’s employee strength has doubled, its total electricity consumption has gone up by only 13 per cent.

At today’s cost, Infosys is looking at a payback of 6-7 years for solar PV.

Considering that electricity and diesel costs have increased by 35 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively, across its operations in the last five years, the company believes that the shift to renewable energy, through the favourable solar policy, also makes business sense.

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