Audi inaugurates 12-MWp rooftop PV system in Hungary

October 8 (Renewables Now) – A 12-MWp rooftop solar power system that Audi AG (ETR:NSU) installed at its factory site in Gyor, Hungary, officially went live on Wednesday, the German car maker said.

E.ON Hungaria Zrt, a subsidiary of German electric utility group E.ON SE (ETR:EOAN), handled the installation, which consisted of placing 36,400 solar modules atop the factory’s two logistics centres.

The photovoltaic (PV) arrays cover an area of around 160,000 square metres (1.72 million sq ft). Audi said its system is the largest rooftop solar power station in Europe.

While Audi’s system occupies more surface, by peak generating capacity it is surpassed by the 18-MWp solar plant that US clothing company PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) installed this week on top of its warehouse in the Netherlands.

With the new solar rooftop, Audi Hungaria has become a carbon-neutral site. Since 2012, the car maker has been relying on a geothermal plant in Gyor for heating for part of its demand and compensating the remainder with bio-gas certificates. For emissions it cannot avoid, Audi purchases certified carbon credits.

The Gyor facilities are the second of five Audi sites to reach carbon neutrality. The company said it wants make all of them carbon neutral by 2025.

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