Ford is looking to the future with a new solar power plant at its Almussafes manufacturing facilities in Valencia, Spain. By 2035, Ford is committed to having zero emissions electric vehicles for all vehicle sales in Europe and targets carbon neutrality across its European footprint of facilities and suppliers.
This latest initiative, which began operating in late 2022, highlights the company’s on-going drive to meet that commitment.
The photovoltaic area, that converts solar energy into electricity, is in a non-productive area of the plant covering two zones of solar panels, capable of producing the equivalent power every year to run 1,400 average homes.
The current production of close to 4,641 megawatt hours per year will increase this summer by 3,762 megawatt hours per year, the equivalent of 1,100 additional average homes. In practice, this means that Ford’s Valencia factory will be making a meaningful reduction in its current electricity demand from the national grid this year.
Ford is looking to expand the areas of solar panels on further non-productive land targeting to reach 10 megawatts of peak power by 2024. The feasibility of potential future solar panel installations on the roofs of factory buildings is also being studied.
Published in the April 2023 Edition
