Renault is killing two birds with one stone with the creation of what it calls, “the world’s largest photovoltaic system in the auto industry”, as it will not only serve to produce electricity, but will also protect new vehicles from the elements of nature before they leave plants.
The carmaker is introducing some 40 hectares or 400,000 square meters (equal to 60 football fields) of photovoltaic panels simultaneously at six of its French production sites in Douai, Maubeuge, Flins, Batilly, Sandouville and Cléon, at delivery and shipping centers as well as employee parking areas.
The photovoltaic panels that are positioned on top of the parking structures are designed to resist impact and hail in particular. They are capable of producing 52,600 MWh of electricity a year, enough for a town of 15,000 people, thus offering a 200-tonne reduction in the CO2 emitted annually by electric engine production.
Renault said it plans to roll out the system internationally starting with 100,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels at its Valladolid and Palencia plants in Spain, as well as 300,000 square meters at its Busan site in South Korea by the end of 2012, with Slovenia, Morocco, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Romania to follow.
PHOTO GALLERY
