JLR installs UK’s largest solar panel roof

Jaguar Land Rover has completed the installation of the UK’s largest rooftop solar panel array at its new state-of-the art engine manufacturing centre in England. The new facility has been designed to be highly sustainable, and was recently awarded an ‘Excellent’ rating by BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) for sustainable buildings. The roof features more than 21,000 photovoltaic panels, with a capacity of 5.8MW, and there are plans to increase this to over 6.3MW by the end of the year. The system will generate more than 30% of the engine manufacturing centre’s energy requirements, which is equivalent to the energy needed to power more than 1,600 homes. The photovoltaic panels will also reduce the facility’s CO2 footprint by over 2,400 tonnes per year. Based in the heart of the UK, the state-of-the-art engine manufacturingcentre is the first new plant that JLR has built from the ground up under Tata ownership, at an investment of more than £500 million (Rs. 5000 crores),and will create almost 1,400 new jobs by the time the plant reaches full capacity.