Well, I guess it’s a new definition of “park.”
Volkswagen today turned on the largest single solar power installation at an automotive plant in the United States and the biggest solar power installation in the state of Tennessee. At a dedication in Chattanooga, a giant light switch was used to note the opening of the 9.5-megawatt solar power system. All of the output will be used by VW to make cars.
The so -called “park” occupies 33 acres, or half of a 66-acre parcel adjacent to VW’s manufacturing plant. It contains 33,600 solar modules from JA Solar designed to produce 13.1 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, the equivalent to the energy consumed annually by around 1,200 homes in the area, according to VW.
The electricity produced from the solar park is predicted to cover 12.5% of the energy needs of VW’s manufacturing plant during full production of the Passat and 100% during non-production periods. Chattanooga Solar Park is as the automaker’s largest photovoltaic installation worldwide.
Ten SMA inverters convert the solar energy from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) used to power the electrical installations in the manufacturing plant. Silicon Ranch will own the solar park and sell the electricity to Volkswagen under a 20-year contract. Phoenix Solar the U.S. subsidiary of Phoenix Solar AG provided engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services in building the solar park during the last six months.
