Solar panels at Dholka tea factory, India
Solar panels at Dholka tea factory, India
Wagh Bakri Tea Group, the Kolkata-based premium tea company, is the 3rd largest packaged tea company in India. To power its Dholka factory in the Ahmedabad District of the state of Gujarat, the company has installed a 125kw solar power roof top facility that spreads over a 12,500 sq. ft. area, and consists of 400 solar panels, each generating 300 watts of energy per day.
Wagh Bakri invested $147,000 (INRs 10 million) on the project. It is estimated the facility will generate 200,000 units of energy per year, 20% of the energy requirements of the factory. The company is one of the first companies in the packaged tea industry to move towards sustainable energy sources. “Traditional energy sources have a limited life and causes pollution.
This in turn leads to a greenhouse effect. To look ahead to a greener future, Wagh Bakri Tea Group has decided to initiate a solar power project and we shall increase its capacity in the near future,” said Parag Desai, executive director, Wagh Bakri Tea Group.