Facing soaring diesel fuel prices and intense competition in India’s two-wheeler sector, the Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) factory in Manesar in the state of Haryana has installed two of GE’s natural gas-fired Jenbacher cogeneration units, which use cheaper energy to generate 4 megawatts (MW) of reliable on-site power.
HMSI installed the Jenbacher units to lower energy costs at the flagship Manesar factory as the company prepares to dramatically expand production in India. The Manesar facility opened in 2001 and manufactures about 1.6 million scooters and motorcycles annually.
HMSI’s cost of generating power by using the Jenbacher units (in waste-heat recovery mode) is an estimated Rs. 6.50/per unit compared to the previous diesel generator cost of about Rs. 12.00/per unit — a savings of about of Rs. 5.50/per unit, or a 45.8 percent reduction.
By installing GE’s cleaner-burning gas engines, HMSI also has reduced industrial greenhouse gas
emissions by 48 percent.
“We installed our GE cogeneration units to reduce our Manesar factory’s energy costs and ensure we have a more cost-effective and secure supply of power and heat to help meet our production requirements,” said HMSI Manesar Plant Head Vinay Dhingra. “GE’s technology has the proven record of efficiency, reliability and availability to help us achieve our growth strategy of becoming the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India by 2020."
