UK – Made of up 19,000 photovoltaic panels, the new 4.75MW array is now fully operational. The solar farm has been installed alongside ten wind turbines which already generate 6.6MW of power, bringing the total output of renewable energy to 11.35MW – equating to 7% of the plant’s electricity requirements, or enough to build 31,374 vehicles.
Colin Lawther, Nissan’s senior vice-president for Manufacturing, Purchasing and Supply Chain Management in Europe, said: “With ten wind turbines already generating energy for our Sunderland plant, this new solar farm will further reduce the environmental impact of Nissan vehicles during their entire lifecycle.”
Nissan began implementing renewable energy sources at Sunderland in 2005, installing the first wind turbines onsite. The solar farm was developed and established within the vehicle test track by European Energy Photovoltaics