The roof that
pays for itself

On the assembly line at Hager’s Pune plant, daily production continues against the backdrop of a broader shift in how the site is powered.

At Hager’s Pune plant, India, a rooftop solar investment is turning climate commitment into measurable results.

Early morning at Hager’s manufacturing plant in Pune, and the rooftop is already earning its keep. Across 595 kilowatts of solar panels, sunlight is being converted into electricity long before the first shift arrives – powering the machines below, feeding surplus energy back into the city grid, and quietly making the case that sustainability and financial performance belong in the same conversation.

India’s electricity supply primarily relies on coal, which means every kilowatt a manufacturer draws from the grid carries a real and measurable environmental price. That context is what makes generating your own renewable electricity so consequential here – not simply a matter of reducing a number on a report, but a structural decision about what kind of industrial operation Hager wants to run.

The case for acting

Michel Voinson, Manufacturing Programme Senior Manager and Programme Lead for Scope 1 and 2 Decarbonisation, has spent years working at the intersection of manufacturing operations and climate commitments. When the Pune opportunity came into focus, the reasoning was straightforward. “Producing our own renewable electricity in a coal-intensive grid environment is not just an environmental decision – it is a strategic one,” he says. “Every kilowatt-hour we generate ourselves is one we don’t pull from a grid that still runs largely on fossil fuels.”

Hager commissioned the 595 kWp² rooftop system in 2025. It now generates approximately 0.8³ GWh of electricity annually, representing around 80%⁴ of the Pune site’s total demand. 40 to 50%⁵ is self-consumed, avoiding between 300 and 400 tonnes⁶ of CO₂e every year while contributing to grid decarbonisation with the surplus injected. At Group level, that represents roughly 1% of Hager’s Scope 1 and 2 CO₂e emissions – a tangible contribution to the commitment to reduce this scope of GHG emissions by 50% before 2030.

Infrastructure that pays its way

What makes Pune more than an environmental success story is the underlying financial logic. By covering about half of the site’s electricity demand, the installation reduces both grid dependency and exposure to energy price volatility. Surplus power generated during peak hours is exported to the grid, turning the rooftop into a source of revenue as well as energy. The combination of reduced grid purchases and feed-in income brings the payback period to approximately three years.

“This is a strong result,” says Michel Voinson, “but when you look at the full picture – reduced grid costs, export revenue, and the structural advantage it creates as production grows – it becomes clear this is not a sustainability expense. It is infrastructure investment. The roof pays for itself, and then it keeps paying.”

As production volumes at Pune grow, the renewable capacity is already in place to absorb additional demand. The marginal energy cost of expansion falls – an investment made today that underwrites the efficiency of tomorrow’s growth.

Progress built from the ground up

The solar installation is the most visible element of what has changed at Pune, but it sits within a broader pattern of deliberate improvement. Alongside the rooftop project, the team worked systematically through the plant’s energy systems – identifying inefficiencies, adjusting how equipment operates, finding where consistent attention compounds into meaningful results.

Optimising the air handling units alone saved 58 MWh and avoided 48 tonnes of CO₂e⁷ in 2025. “Taken by themselves, these measures may not seem like much,” says Michel Voinson. “Together, they create a significant impact.”

Commercially, the project is already changing conversations – strengthening Hager’s position in tenders, supporting ESG performance indicators, and reinforcing credibility as a partner in energy management.

Above the plant, the panels catch the morning light and the system runs – generating electricity, reducing emissions, and proving that the distance between ambition and impact in this case can be measured in kilowatt-hours.