Last Friday, the plant belonging to Volkswagen Poznań (VWP) in the Polish town of Września was run entirely on solar power for the first time ever. Thanks to optimum weather conditions, the solar power plant located on the factory premises was able to supply 100 per cent of the electricity required. The park is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. It comprises 25,000 modules with a capacity of 15.2 megawatts (MW) and covers an area of 22 hectares.
“The new photovoltaic plant at the Września factory is a major step towards full energy self-sufficiency, as well as sustainable and environmentally friendly production,” says Stefanie Hegels, CEO of Volkswagen Poznań. “It also ensures that we have access to energy at stable prices.”
The solar farm was built in two phases: The first section went into operation in 2023, while the second section was recently completed in partnership with Quanta Energy. Covering an area of 22 hectares, the park is one of the largest on-site facilities – i.e. a photovoltaic park connected to a factory – in Europe and in the entire Volkswagen Group. On average, the farm will cover about 20 per cent of the electricity demand at the VWP plant in Września over the course of a year. Now, for the first time ever, weather conditions have been so favourable that the electricity generated in one day was enough to power the entire production facility. Vehicles built in Września include the Volkswagen Crafter.
Polish plants take on a pioneering role on the path to carbon neutrality
The Volkswagen Group’s brands have set themselves the goal of achieving climate-neutral production at all manufacturing sites by 2040. And the Polish plants are playing a pioneering role in this. All Volkswagen Poznań plants have been powered exclusively by green energy since 2019. The plant in Września enjoys particularly favourable conditions, so the large area will allow for further diversification of energy sources in the future. Further renewable energy projects are already being planned, including an additional solar farm with a capacity of 3.1 MW and a 6.5 MW rooftop system. Administrative proceedings for the construction of wind turbines on the site have also already been initiated.