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.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
