Mindtree Limited, Karnataka – Elevating the future of renewable energy

Overview
Mindtree, a Bangalore based leading IT company fulﬁlled their dream of adopting solar energy and collaborated with CleanMax Solar for 2 MWp from its 30 MWp solar farm in Karnataka. The 30 MWp plant has been developed under the New Open Access Policy by the Karnataka Government and is located in Tumkur district.

The power supply started in the month of August 2016, and Mindtree saves more than INR 80 lakhs annually. The plant satisﬁes roughly 75% of the power requirement at their Whiteﬁeld campus. In addition to substantially contributing to the cost-effectiveness, the plant also helps in reducing 2832 tons of carbon footprint annually.

Quick Facts

LocationBangalore
Capacity2 MWp
Type of systemGrid-connected open access solar park
Reduction in Energy Bills INR 80 lacs annually
Carbon dioxide abated2832 tons annually
Date of commissioningAugust 2016

Challenges

Availability of rooftop area:
When Mindtree was evaluating the ways it could go green, space available at site for new solar installation was a challenge. Commercial buildings such as Mindtree’s IT complexes, typically have limited roof space for onsite solar power plants to satisfy their signiﬁcant energy demand. For companies like Mindtree with an interest in furthering their sustainability through solar power, a regulatory environment like Karnataka’s is attractive, as it establishes long-term certainty for both generators and off-takers of power and thereby facilitates the long-term contracts needed to ﬁnance solar projects.
Lack of clarity on net metering:
Because Mindtree was one of the ﬁrst few off-takers under the new KERC Policy, there was a little clarity on net metering and adjustment of units sent back to the grid.

Solution

No space, still signiﬁcantly green:
Despite having no space at their IT campus, Mindtree was able to offset 75% of their power to a cleaner solar power and abate 2832 tons of CO2 annually without disrupting their business practices.
Favorable open access policy by Government of Karnataka:
The banking and wheeling charges applicable to power is about INR 1.5 – 2 per unit in Karnataka. As per the New Open Access Policy by Government of Karnataka, these have been exempted for solar power for the next 10 years. Exemption of these charges enables developers like CleanMax Solar to provide solar power at competitive rates; passing on the cost competitiveness to the consumers, like Mindtree

Highlights

One of the ﬁrst few offtakers from Karnataka’s ﬁrst solar park for corporate India of 30 MWp
Plant meets roughly over 75 % of energy demands
Mindtree could switch to solar power for a signiﬁcant portion of their energy, with zero investment at a signiﬁcant discount to grid tariffs

About CleanMax Solar
CleanMax Solar is the sustainability partner for India’s leading corporates. Headquartered in Mumbai, we are the largest provider of solar power to commercial and industrial customers.
The company develops projects on turnkey basis, providing cheaper-than-grid solar power without any upfront investment from its customers. With a highly skilled in-house team, CleanMax Solar operates across India, Middle East and South East Asia.
Our track record with India’s top companies has made CleanMax Solar a preferred partner across sectors such as Automotive, Pharmaceuticals, Food & Beverages, Information Technology, Education and many other industries. We also partner with some of India’s leading government institutions and top universities.

About Mindtree Limited
Mindtree Limited is an Indian multinational information technology and outsourcing company headquartered in Bengaluru, India and New Jersey, USA. The company deals in e-commerce, mobile applications, cloud computing, digital transformation, data analytics, EAI and ERP, with more than 328 clients and 43 ofﬁces in over 17 countries. Its largest operations are in India and major markets are the United States and Europe.

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