Villanueva stressed the importance of initiatives such as Michelin's to boost renewable energy use in the Spanish region of Castilla and León, which is a national leader in renewable energy.
It is a unique project in the region as it has involved the installation of the largest rooftop solar array to date in Castile and Leon. It is also one of the ten largest arrays in the world. Cenit-Solar, a company that performs turnkey energy projects, has integrated the latest technological advances into the array, which will boost the future development of this source of clean and inexhaustible energy.
The facility was developed after Michelin showed an interest in developing its renewable energy capacity as a way of reducing fossil fuel consumption and thus, contribute to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A contribution that, thanks to the clean energy produced by this facility, translates into an effective reduction in carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
Michelin is committed to reducing the impact of its products and manufacturing systems on the environment, and has established this goal as one of its main strategic lines of action. As well as this latest project, Michelin’s effort is reflected in the development of low-resistance ecological tires and the sustainable management of rubber plantations in Brazil.
€11 million has been invested in the PV array, which has a surface area of approximately 44,000 square metres of panels, providing 2MW of power, which represents 10% of the total energy demand of the factory. The array comprises a total of 30,240 cadmium telluride photovoltaic modules, and 160 inverters on the roofs of the warehouses and manufacturing facilities.
The facility will have an annual electricity output of 3 GWh and will prevent the emission into the atmosphere of 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum, equivalent to the emissions of 6,000 passenger cars and the consumption of 800 homes.
Cenit-Solar is located in the Boecillo Technology Park (Valladolid) and is a leader in energy management and the design and installation of solar thermal and PV systems, as well as biomass and geothermal systems. This broad experience, as well as its advanced R&D&i capability provides all the necessary support to companies and individuals to help them better manage their energy needs.
The aim of Michelin is to make a lasting contribution to the mobility of people and property. Hence, the group manufactures and sells tires for all types of vehicles, from airplanes to automobiles and two-wheeled vehicles, civil and agricultural engineering vehicles, trucks and space shuttles. Michelin also offers mobility support services (ViaMichelin.com) and publishes guidebooks on accommodation and restaurants, maps and road atlases. The group, which is headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand (France), operates in 170 countries. It employs 121,000 people worldwide and has 69 production sites across 19 different countries.
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