Toyota says it will install 17,000 solar panels at its UK Burnaston plant in a bid to cut its carbon dioxide production by 2,000t tonnes a year.
According to Agence France Presse, the panels will cover 90,000 square metres (970,000 square feet), equivalent to more than four football pitches, Toyota said.
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The US$16.5m joint project with energy company British Gas is expected to begin producing electricity next month and will apparently generate power equivalent to 5% of the plant’s annual output.
Toyota will be able to use the electricity for free, while in return British Gas will receive government funds for developing renewable energy.
The Burnaston plant, which opened in 1993, was Toyota’s first in Europe and produces the Auris Hybrid, Auris and Avensis models.
Toyota says the solar panel project is the biggest of its kind in any car factory in Britain. The carmaker has introduced similar measures in other countries to increase its use of sustainable energy.
