Environment

Renault to install 450,000m2 of solar panels

Renault to install 450,000m2 of solar panels
The solar panels on the roofs of Renault's French plants will cover an area equivalent to 63 football fields
The solar panels on the roofs of Renault's French plants will cover an area equivalent to 63 football fields
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Renault's says its solar roof project will be the largest in the automotive industry
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Renault's says its solar roof project will be the largest in the automotive industry
The solar panels on the roofs of Renault's French plants will cover an area equivalent to 63 football fields
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The solar panels on the roofs of Renault's French plants will cover an area equivalent to 63 football fields

Outdoing the likes of Ferrari and Audi, which have already installed solar panels onto the roofs of their manufacturing plants, Renault has partnered with Gestamp Solar to launch what it says is the largest solar energy project in the automotive industry. The project will see solar panels eventually covering a total area of 450,000 m2 (4,843,760 sq ft) at Renault plants in France, generating 60 MW and cutting the company's CO2 emissions by 30,000 tons a year.

Renault's says its solar roof project will be the largest in the automotive industry
Renault's says its solar roof project will be the largest in the automotive industry

Installation of the solar panels on the roofs of the delivery and shipping centers at Renault's Douai, Maubeuge, Flins, Batilly, Sandouville and Cléon sites will begin this month, with completion scheduled for February 2012. Renault says that upon completion, the solar panels will cover an area equivalent to 63 football fields and generate enough electricity to power a town of 15,000 - although that's obviously not what it will be used for.

The solar roof project is part of Renault's plan to reduce its carbon footprint by 10 percent by 2013 and a further 10 percent by 2016. The company says it has already implemented a number of measures towards attaining these goals, including reducing energy consumption at its plants and diversifying the energy mix used to generate electricity with a particular focus on renewable energy sources.

3 comments
3 comments
Michael Mantion
If they really cared they could of installed wind turbines and generate 3-5 times the energy in the same area for less cost and use far less energy. Solar panels take a lot of energy to create..
Mr Stiffy
And where are the solo person cars, that weigh under 100Kg and get 300Km per liter at 100Kmh?
Noooo we are so stupid that we decided that 900HP cars that go from 0 to 100 in 2 seconds are our flagship models....
mrhuckfin
Mr Stiffy. You don\'t like ANYTHING that\'s fun do you? Your free to buy what you want and enjoy it, the world will not come undone because someone owns or drives a rocket ship of a car. I\'m just say\'n. :-)