Nissan switches on solar farm
Nissan’s move towards zero emissions took a stride forward when it switched on a new solar farm in Sunderland, its largest manufacturing site in Europe.
Made up of 19,000 photo-voltaic panels, the new 4.75MW facility has been installed by partner company European Energy Photovoltaics, with 100% of the electricity generated to be used by Nissan.
The solar farm sits alongside 10 wind turbines, which deliver 6.6MW power to bring the total output of renewables in Sunderland to 11.35MW. This equates to seven per cent of the plant’s electricity requirements, enough to build the equivalent of 31,374 Nissan LEAFs.
Colin Lawther, Nissan’s senior vice president for manufacturing, purchasing and supply chain management in Europe, said, ‘Renewable energy is fundamental to Nissan’s vision for Intelligent Mobility. We have built over 50,000 Nissan LEAFs in Europe, and the industry-leading new 250km-range LEAF is now available.
‘With 10 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.’
