As Chevrolet starts building its solar power system, Toyota launches its own at TMUK’s Burnaston car plant.
This is the largest solar power system installed by any UK vehicle manufacturer, and in now on stream at Derbyshire site, producing 4.6 million kWh a year – enough power to build 7,000 cars a year. Toyota’s massive system includes about 17,000 solar panels, covering 90,000m2 of industrial land within the site. It has the capacity to save 2,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from the complex each year.
These panels have cost more than £10million and are all British-manufactured and paid for by British Gas.
The project adds to the plant’s impressive environmental profile as one of Toyota’s five standard-bearing worldwide “eco-factories”. Notably, Burnaston is also the production centre for the Toyota Auris Hybrid, the first volume production full hybrid car to be built in Europe. Just this week Toyota has been named “World’s Greenest Brand.”
The solar power system is complimented by a range of showcase energy saving features that have been introduced around Burnaston’s manufacturing shops. These include a brise soleil, which is a sunshade of solar panels fitted above the windows, and a wall of solar glass to replace existing windows.
