Stellantis will produce 80% of the energy it consumes from renewable sources by 2024

The transformation of Figueruelas into self-sufficiency in energy goes like a shot. If the first phase of the photovoltaic park, which accounts for 20% of the power plant consumption, had been inaugurated only a year ago, this second phase was presented to the press this Thursday, where one-third of the total cost was covered. In summary, Approximately 35,000 solar panels located on an area of ​​163,000 square meters It is expected to prevent the release of 4,200 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

But there is still a long way to go since the administration of the automotive giant in Zaragoza. they hope to provide 80% of their own energy. It won’t be 100% as they explain, because the costs of such an extension are “not possible” for the plant’s capacity. Existing solar panels project will be publicly announced a giant wind turbine facility will be added in September. The renewable infrastructure, meanwhile, is located entirely on industrial land, near the auto company’s huge industrial city in Figueruelas.

before 2024

The ecological transition is advancing rapidly and the timetable Stellantis has set for the Zaragoza facility is indeed optimistic: they expect the renewable park to be completed by the end of 2023. With the completion of its first two phases, the Figueruelas renewable project is already the strongest project in terms of self-consumption in the Spanish automotive industry. It is also climbing positions to position itself as one of the most important in Europe that can attract investment in the future. In fact, with the current rise in prices, self-consumption represents a great opportunity to mitigate the effects of inflation. “Our project is very ambitious, we aim to pay up to 10 times less for energy “Everything we’re doing now and everything is helping to lower vehicle production costs,” Ignacio Cortés, head of renewable energy projects at the Stellantis plant in Figuerulas, said on Thursday.

The application of the electric vehicle in the production lines of Figueruelas draws attention. Of course, reducing energy costs, this will serve to lower the price of cars, one of the current barriers to entry for potential consumers. As Manuel Munarriz, director of the Figueruelas plant, explained, “where energy used to be 5% of the cost of producing a vehicle, now the cost has quadrupled and reached 20% of the production value”.

An installation currently generating 16 mW of power

The new facility, located in the southern part of the facility, 15,600 new photovoltaic modules and spread over an area of ​​76,000 m2. With an installed capacity of 8.01 MW, Stellantis Zaragoza infrastructure is expected to meet 14% of its energy needs. In total, with the sum of the figures for the first phase, the renewable park already has 163,000 m2 covered with 34,800 solar panels, including the production centre. It has a photovoltaic energy development capacity of 16.65 MW.. Thus, almost one third of the energy consumed by the factory every year will come from this renewable source.

The new solar power plant, like the first plant opened a year ago, joins the portfolio of photovoltaic self-consumption projects owned by an independent energy producer, Prosolia Energy, under the Energy Management project model. in 2020 Prosolia signs first 8.6 MW PPA with Stellantis for Zaragoza plant After successful commissioning in 2021, the ambitious sustainable energy project has been expanded with the aforementioned 8.01 MW photovoltaic installation.