Luxury automotive manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced that it will install a mass solar PV system at its Halewood manufacturing plant as part of a £500 million investment to decarbonise the historic facility.
The firm will install 18,000 solar PV panels at Halewood, with a total generation capacity of 8,600GWh, enough to cover 10% of the site’s energy consumption. JLR also recently installed solar car parks at the facility, allowing employees low-carbon electric vehicle (EV) charging.
The company has a set a goal to cut its overall carbon emissions by 46% by 2030 and has cut its operational emissions by 24.1% in the last four years.
One of the most impactful steps on Halewood’s decarbonisation journey was upgrading the plant’s paint shop. A hydrogen-powered boiler has enabled the site to save 2.4 tonnes of CO2e a day, equating to an immense 565 tonnes per year.
JLR is also working to upskill its workers for the company’s green future. The company hopes to electrify all of its vehicle brands by 2030. The company will invest £20 million each year in its Future Skills Programme to upskill employees in green technology, with almost 25,000 taking part so far.
Reuben Chorley, JLR sustainable industrial operations director said: “At JLR Halewood, we’re driving transformation through circular principles: use less, extend the life of what we have, and reuse wherever possible. We’re also ramping up energy efficiency and embracing renewables, with exciting plans to integrate hydrogen into our operations.”
Big industry looks to solar
JLR is far from the only industrial or technological firm looking to solar power to decarbonise its operations. Last week, biotech firm Fera Science announced that it had appointed electrical engineering specialist Meson Electrical to install a 150kWp solar installation on the roof of its York campus.
In August, GB NRG announced that it had successfully completed 2MW of solar PV installations on all of Crendon Timber Engineering’s sites across the UK, while Bristan Group successfully installed 1,666 solar panels at its head office in Tamworth, Staffordshire. Bristan Group’s installation will provide around 600kWh of electricity, enough to cover around 56% of the site’s power needs.