North Wales Factory Goes Solar with Toyota UK’s Solar Array
North Wales Factory Goes Solar with Toyota UK’s Solar Array
Over in the United Kingdom, Toyota is embracing alternative energy as a means of fueling one of its main production plants. Toyota UK’s Deeside factory in North Wales received almost 13,000 solar panels earlier this week—enough to power up to 10 percent of the entire building, and build up to 22,500 engines per year. Although this isn’t Toyota’s first foray into solar power (a Dutch dealership recently installed solar panels, as well as used Prius batteries to store excess energy), it marks a big step for the automaker towards a more sustainable future.
Toyota UK’s solar array was made possible thanks to a partnership with British Gas, which both designed and installed the array. As a result, the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions will be drastically reduced, by around 1,800 tonnes per year. Toyota UK’s Deeside plant builds gasoline and hybrid engines for both the British market and overseas markets.
Jim Crosbie, Toyota’s Deeside Plant Director, said: “The significant investment made in the new solar array marks a major advance for Deeside and Toyota Manufacturing UK in our mission to minimise the environmental impact of our operations, cutting carbon emissions and powering our production in a way that’s cleaner and more environmentally efficient.”
Prior to Toyota Deeside going solar, another British Toyota plant installed one of the country’s largest solar arrays back in 2011. Toyota’s factory in Burnaston, Derbyshire, showed just how effective solar power could be in powering a major plant, while remaining kind to the environment. This paved the way for Toyota UK’s solar array at its Deeside plant, as well as many other energy-saving initiatives across the country.
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