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Nachiket Kelkar
Nachiket Kelkar

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

EESL proposes replacement of 5 lakh govt vehicles with EVs

INDIA-AUTOS/POLICY [Representative image] Mahindra e2o electric car | Reuters

After rolling out a tender for the procurement of 10,000 electric vehicles (EV), the central government is to planning to extend the project to more departments and looks to replace 5 lakh petrol and diesel vehicles with EVs.

Energy Efficiency Services (EESL), which falls under the Ministry of Power, had recently floated a global tender to procure 10,000 electric vehicles for the government. The vehicles are to be leased out to various government departments. This is a part of the government's ambitious plan to replace petrol and diesel vehicles with EVs.

Tata Motors had emerged the lowest bidder in the tender process and thus will be supplying a large chunk of the 500 EVs that will be procured in the first phase. Rival Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will also be supplying about 150 electric cars. However, it is yet decide if it will participate in the second phase.

EESL has proposed a replacement of five lakh EVs over time.

"This is something we have proposed to the government. If the government agrees then there will be a directive to EESL. Should that happen, then the timeline will be decided; it should happen in 4-5 years," said Saurabh Kumar, MD of EESL.

Pawan Goenka, MD, M&M said the currently available EVs in India are still expensive over petrol and diesel vehicles, primarily because the key components like lithium batteries are imported at high costs. Localisation of parts as well as a huge push for charging infrastructure will help make EVs an attractive proposition, he added.

On October 23, M&M and EESL inked a partnership, under which the utility vehicle maker will replace existing lights with energy efficient LEDs across its 18 manufacturing facilities.

M&M is making an investment of Rs 16 crore for the project and it is expected to save about 20 million units of electricity each year, said Goenka.

EESL will be providing technical assistance, procurement and project management services.

Goenka said its suppliers were also being encouraged in adopting the programme and several of them had already shown interest.

Apart from switching to LEDs, energy audits will be carried out at six of M&M's plants to explore further opportunities to save energy.

M&M has also floated a new project to use energy saving motors in its plants. Company officials said that motors account for 70 per cent of the energy consumption in its plants and therefore, a switch to more energy efficient motors will help reduce operating costs.

Another project is underway to replace old air-conditioners with new energy efficient models.

M&M has committed to invest $10 per tonne of carbon it emits, towards technologies that will help it reduce the carbon footprint.

As per its Promise 2019 framework, the company wants to reduce its carbon and water footprint by 25 per cent.

For EESL, the partnership with M&M is its first foray outside the public sector. EESL is now in talks with other corporates and major banks to, push them to adopt energy efficient appliances and thus reduce their operating costs through energy savings, said Kumar.

EESL has so far distributed 27 crore LED bulbs under the government's Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LED and Appliances for All (Ujala) scheme. It has also retrofitted over 36 lakh LED streetlights across the country.

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Topics : #Electric Cars | #energy

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