Nissan confirms new solar farm for its Sunderland plant

Japanese automaker Nissan has been given the green light to install a 20MW solar farm at its new Sunderland megafactory that will provide 20% of the plant's electricity as part of its pledge to lowering emissions.

The company was granted planning permission by local authorities to help diversify its energy mix to power the creation of new EVs for the European market as it plans to extend operations at the site to allow for domestic battery production thanks to a year of pitfalls associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and the semiconductor shortage.

Read more: Nissan and Envision's Sunderland gigafactory given green light

Construction on the farm is set to commence in December and is scheduled for completion in May 2022.

This is the first of a potential ten additional solar farms planned under Nissan's plans for a €1.17 billion (£1bn) investment from Nissan and its partners in future electric vehicle manufacturing.

The solar farm will double the amount of renewable electricity generated at the car factory from an existing smaller solar farm and wind turbines on-site, and provide enough power to build every electric Nissan Leaf EV sold in Europe.

Confirming the news on Wednesday, Alan Johnson, vice president of manufacturing at Nissan Sunderland, said: 'We have been using renewable sources on-site for more than 15 years. The expansion of our solar farm is an integral part of the Nissan EV36Zero project and the company’s journey to carbon neutrality."

With the addition of a localised solar farm, Nissan will further bolster its growing manufacturing hub in the North East, forming a part of its greater €15 billion "Ambition 2030" targets to push for increased electrification across all markets, with Europe set to be by far its largest.

Read more: Nissan unveils "Ambition 2030" plans in electrification push

The car factory in Sunderland has been using on-site wind turbines to produce renewable energy to power the plant since 2005.

Nissan aims to become a truly sustainable company, driving towards a cleaner, safer, and more inclusive world. The vision supports Nissan’s goal to be carbon neutral across the life cycle of its products by the fiscal year 2050.

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