The textile manufacturing hub of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu , India, has taken steps to improve its sustainable energy infrastructure with the installation of a new solar power plant.
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Developed in partnership with Longi, a China-based maker of solar panels and power systems, along with engineering, procurement and construction firm Viridis Engineering, the plant features high-efficiency Hi-MO 5 solar modules that offer high power output, low degradation and high durability.
The project, which was carried out in two phases this year, has improved the area’s power generation capacity, translating to a savings of more than $225,000 per year. The plant has a daily power generation of 6 units (or kilowatt hours) per day.
According to data from The Energy and Resources Institute, an India-based nonprofit research organization, energy usage accounts for 15 to 20 percent of total textile production cost in India. Reductions in energy bills for India-based textile makers could potentially lead to lower costs for brands further down the supply chain, as India holds a 4-percent share of the global trade in textiles and apparel, and accounted for $44 billion in exports between 2021 and 2022.
But cost savings wasn’t the only impetus driving the Tamil Nadu region—which is home to more than 1,000 textile mills —to invest in solar power. As sustainability and transparency become more important to brands and consumers, reducing emissions and the reliance on fossil fuels has become a priority for many in the textile industry.
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And according to the most recent data from the International Energy Agency, the majority of India’s energy comes from fossil fuels, with coal accounting for 45 percent of the country’s total energy supply. Wind and solar only accounts for slightly more than 2 percent of the country’s power production.
But the Tamil Nadu state stands as a bit of an outlier when it comes to energy in India . Wind power has long been a part of Tamil Nadu’s energy production, and more recently, solar power has become more of a priority. According to reporting in The Hindu, the state has a total green energy capacity of 34,700 megawatts, accounting for more than 50 percent of its energy mix. Of that total, wind energy accounts for 10,500 megawatts while solar accounts for more than 7,300 megawatts.
Tamil Nadu has welcomed private companies in both the wind and solar sectors, such as Longi, to help expand its clean energy production.
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