Now, one year later, the carmaker announced that it will be expanding the use of the electricity generated by the solar panels to charge the batteries of the electric e-tron models. In addition, an extra 7,500 square meter area will be covered with photovoltaic panels.
“This concept shows that Audi is tackling the topic of electromobility systematically,” said Peter Kossler, Audi Ingolstadt plant manager.
“The photovoltaic installation uses innovative thin-layer modules that satisfy the most stringent environmental protection, efficiency and flexibility standards. We aim to set the standards in every area.”
The new solar panels will be installed by Green City Energy, the same company which handled the job for the car maker last year. The 1,000 MWh of electricity by the current system will be enriched with the 460 MWh coming from the expansion.
Currently, the panels have begun feeding electricity directly in Audi’s electric network. The power is used for charging stations for electric cars for now, but other production facilities will be powered this way soon.
In October this year, Audi announced a similar endeavor for the Neckarsulm center. The panels here, 10,700 modules, can reach 1,900 megawatt hours, fed into the public grid of the utility EnBW. The Neckarsulm facility is currently undergoing major upgrades, with the carmaker already announcing the beginning of the second phase of construction at the site.
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