Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover says its factory at Halewood in Merseyside will use solar energy for more than 25% of its power needs. Tony McDonough reports
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced a major investment into solar power for both its production and non-production UK sites.
On Monday the carmaker said more than 25% of its power needs would come from solar panels located either on site or close by. This will include its factory in Halewood in Merseyside where more than 3,500 people are employed.
This is the latest project form part of its global renewable strategy, which aims to increase self-generated energy to 36.4% of its global consumption by 2030. JLR says the solar project will slash energy bills and reduce reliance on grid energy.
Currently the company uses approximately 440k MWh of electricity in the UK per year and approximately 546k MWh of electricity globally per year. 3.6% of JLR’s global energy consumption currently comes from self-generated renewables.
JLR’s new off-grid energy projects aim to produce almost 120 MW of renewable energy at their peak, enough to power nearly 44,500 homes or charge 2.7m I-PACE batteries annually.
A mix of rooftop and ground-mounted panels, as well as solar car ports to power processes and electric car charging, will boost self-generated energy capability from solar by 16%. All sites will retain import grid connections to ensure security of supply.
Work is now underway to deliver these projects with the first three scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.
“JLR is committed to managing its net zero energy transition against the challenging backdrop of volatile energy prices,” said Francois Dossa, JLR strategy and sustainability executive director.
“We are working hard as a business to improve our energy efficiency across our entire global operations. These new projects will diversify our energy portfolio, to reduce our reliance on Grid electricity and help us to reduce our energy bills.
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“The steps we are taking further support our ambitious goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2039, and to hit our mid-term science-based targets along the way.”
JLR has already rolled out energy efficiency projects across the business, reducing emissions by 26% in 2023 compared to 2020.
A total of 53 energy optimisation projects were successfully implemented in the last year with savings in CO2e of 10.9kt, equivalent to 5,450,000 fire extinguishers.