Nissan's production site for its all-electric LEAF and batteries just turned another shade greener, following the completion of a 4.75MW solar array at the Sunderland facility.

 

The solar installation - which was completed earlier this week and is now providing power to the site - joins an existing array of 10 wind turbines, taking the total renewable energy capacity at the site to 11.35MW. This is enough to meet around seven per cent of the plant's electricity requirements, enough to build the equivalent of 31,374 vehicles, Nissan said.

 

Colin Lawther, Nissan's senior vice president for manufacturing, purchasing and supply chain management in Europe, said renewable energy is "fundamental" to Nissan's vision of a sustainable future.

 

"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," he said in a statement.

 

The 19,000-panel array was installed within the loop of the plant's test track by Nissan's partners European Energy Photovoltaics.

 

It comes as Nissan seeks to gain a foothold in the energy storage market. Last month Nissan unveiled a home energy storage system using old Nissan LEAF batteries, which is due to hit the market later this year. It also announced the UK's first vehicle-to-grid trial, where 100 LEAF owners will test bi-directional charging points that allow users to feed stored energy from their cars back into the national grid. (businessGreen)