Audi, E.ON to Build Europe’s Largest PV Rooftop System
The solar array will span across more than 1.7 million square feet on the roofs of two logistics center Audi has in Győr, Hungary.
E.ON and Audi have partnered in building Europe’s largest rooftop photovoltaic system. The solar park will be installed on the roofs of the two logistics centers Audi has in Győr, Hungary, which total more than 1.7 million square feet combined.
E.ON will build the park that is set to comprise 35,000 solar cells and will also handle operations. The peak output will be of 12 megawatts and the annual output will generate more than 9.5 gigawatt hours of electricity. This capacity corresponds to the annual energy requirements of 5,000 households and will block about 6,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the air. Construction is slated to begin in August and commercial operation is anticipated to start in early 2020.
Plans for a greener future
According to Rüdiger Recknagel, head of environmental protection at Audi AG, Audi is the first premium manufacturer to have their carbon dioxide footprint measured and certified in 2014. Moreover, the company is also installing new technologies at all their plants to reduce water consumption, avoid air pollution and improve recycling. Peter Kössler, board of management member for production and logistics at Audi AG said the car manufacturer intends to turn all their production sites climate neutral by 2030.
“We are committed to the economical use of resources and therefore want to keep the environmental impact of our production as low as possible. Approximately 70 percent of Audi Hungaria’s heat requirements are already covered by climate-neutral, geothermal energy. Our goal is to have completely carbon dioxide-neutral plant operation in the future. With the construction of the solar-cell park, we are now taking a further step to achieve this in terms of power supply,” Achim Heinfling, chairman of the board of management of Audi Hungaria, said in a prepared statement.
“Our company is committed to solutions supporting a sustainable future. The widespread use of solar energy is an integral part of this endeavor. We are pleased that E.ON has gained Audi Hungaria’s trust and a new, nearly 25-year partnership has started between the two companies,” added Zsolt Jamniczky, E.ON Hungaria’s Board member.
Images courtesy of E.ON and Audi
