Nissan switches on solar farm at production plant

Car manufacturer Nissan will generate 11.35MW from renewables at its biggest manufacturing site in Europe after switching on a new 4.75MW solar farm.

The 19,000 solar photovoltaic panels are alongside 10 wind turbines already installed at the plant in Sunderland which is the European centre of production for the all-electric Nissan Leaf and its batteries.

The renewable energy will save around 3,000 tonnes of CO2 per year and equate to 7 per cent of the plant’s electricity requirements.

Nissan senior vice president for manufacturing purchasing and supply chain management in Europe Colin Lawther said: “Renewable energy is fundamental to Nissan’s vision for Intelligent Mobility.

“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.”

Last month, the company launched the first vehicle-to-grid storage trial, giving owners of the Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 van the opportunity to plug in their vehicles and sell energy stored in their vehicle battery back to the system.