Sri Lanka based apparel exporter MAS Holdings has green signalled a renewable energy drive named ‘Photon’. Under the newly launched programme, the apparel manufacturer will install 24 rooftop Solar PV Systems.
The solar systems will span over an area of 2,000,000 sq. ft. from Kilinochchi to Koggala (Sri Lanka). It will also be a major source of company’s electricity needs at each of its 24 locations. Not only this, the electricity generated will be provided to the National Grid under the government’s ‘Surya Bala Sangramaya’ drive.
The energy drive ‘Photon’ is in line with the company’s key environmental goals. It will serve as a business unit to fund future renewable energy opportunities. With the help of this programme, MAS Holdings wants to step up its sustainability game.
“It’s time we move beyond the simple cost benefit lens by switching to solar. We need to invest because the cost of doing nothing is far greater. Energy is no longer a right, it is a responsibility. As one of the largest manufacturers in Sri Lanka, it is simply right that we commence the movement to renewable energy with an initiative that really makes a difference,” said Shirendra Lawrence, Chief Operating Officer, MAS Holdings, as quoted in the press release.
The idea of Photon was generated from the company’s aim to have one of the largest multi-site rooftop solar initiatives in the world. In 2015, MAS installed a 1 MW Solar PV System at its facility in Thulhiriya, which is said to be South Asia’s largest rooftop PV installation at the time.
The three major environmental strategies of the apparel manufacturer oblige them to take radical climate action on renewable energy, to continuously manage the impact of its footprint and to restore habitats across 100 times the size of its operational area. It also plans to have a Net Positive Impact in energy space by 2025.
