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An auto manufacturer is leading the clean energy charge, recently unveiling the largest rooftop solar installation in Europe.
An Audi factory in Hungary just flipped the switch on a rooftop array that spans the length of 22.4 soccer fields and includes more than 36,000 solar cells.
According to Audi, the installation will produce 9.5 GWh of annual energy, which is equivalent to the energy used in 3,800 households.
But the plant, which has been responsible for producing certain Audi TT, A3, and Q3s over the years, wasn’t starting from scratch. This green milestone is the cherry on top of an already aggressive baseline for efficiency. Prior to this, the Hungary plant was Europe’s largest user of geothermal energy.
And while this factory will keep 4,900 tons of C02 out of the air, it’s not even Audi’s first carbon-neutral factory. That honor went to its Brussels operations in 2018 and the two plants are part of five included in the overall clean energy plan. Board member Peter Kossler says that the goal is for all Audi sites to have carbon neutral operation by 2025.
In addition, Audi has incorporated its supply chain into the effort. Since switching in 2017 to what they refer to as “green trains,” the company’s logistics network has cut 13,000 tons of C0s annually and says its rail transport is now “largely carbon neutral.”
