Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) are not spending all of their fortune on development of exotic cars and fancy commercials. They are also fulfilling their environmental responsibilities by making their production facilities greener. JLR’s engine plant at i54 South Staffordshire is now the proud owner of the UK’s largest rooftop solar panel array.

The system, consisting of more than 21,000 photovoltaic panels, has a capacity of 5.8MW. By the end of the year it will make 6.3MW, meaning it will be able to provide 30% of the Engine Manufacturing Centre’s energy requirements. This is the equivalent to the energy needed to power more than 1,600 homes. And it all comes from the sun.

Jaguar’s new engine plant, built from the ground up with an investment of more than £500 million, will manufacture the first family of premium, advanced technology engines. The new Jaguar XE sports sedan will be powered by four-cylinder units produced at this plant.

The installation of the solar panels is only part of JLR’s green initiative. They have plans to create an ecological corridor across the bottom of the site, designed to encourage the natural movement of species from one side of the site to the other, and install boxes, habitat piles, dead wood stumps and insect houses to encourage small mammals, invertebrates, amphibians, bats and birds to the site.

Trevor Leeks, the Engine Manufacturing Centre’s Operations Director, said: “Our world-class facility showcases the latest sustainable technologies and innovations. The completion of the UK’s largest rooftop solar panel installation here at the Engine Manufacturing Centre is just one example of this. As the first manufacturer to win the ‘Responsible Business of the Year’ last year, environmental innovation lies at the heart of Jaguar Land Rover’s business.”