New Delhi, Jun 5 (IANS): Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said it has commenced a pilot Biogas plant at its Manesar facility in the fiscal year 2024-25, as it plans to invest nearly Rs 450 crore over the next three years towards renewable energy initiatives.

The initiative is in alignment with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's 'Waste to Energy' programme, the company said in a statement.

In FY 2023-24, Maruti Suzuki invested Rs 120.8 crore towards commissioning renewable energy initiatives like solar power and biogas. It has increased the investment approximately fourfold to Rs 450 crore.

The pilot plant is designed to produce 0.2 tonnes of biogas daily.

"As we ramp up our production capacity from around 2 million to 4 million by 2030-31, we are also accelerating our efforts to increase the share of sustainable and renewable energy sources across our operations," said Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India.

This is in line with Suzuki's 'Environment Vision 2050' and the government’s renewable energy focus, he added.

The anticipated output is about 1 lakh standard cubic meters of biogas in FY2024-25.

It will offset approximately 190 tonnes of CO2 per annum, said the company.

The pilot biogas plant will provide energy for the manufacturing processes of the company's Manesar facility.

The residual organic manure will be utilised in horticulture effectively making it a zero-discharge model.

"The learning from this pilot biogas plant will be implemented at our upcoming world-class manufacturing facilities,” said Takeuchi.

The company expanded its solar capacity to 43.2 MWp (megawatt peak) in the fiscal year 2023-24.