Mercedes to build giant solar plant at East London factory

Mercedes-Benz South Africa said it will spend R100-million on building a huge solar plant at its East London manufacturing facility. 

The project will see 22 847 solar PV panels installed and marks the second phase of the German automotive giant’s plan for net carbon-neutral manufacturing by 2030. 

With installation set to start in the first quarter of 2024, the project will significantly reduce the plant’s carbon footprint and lessen Mercedes’ dependence on unreliable electricity supply from Eskom. 

A first phase, completed in 2022, provided 2MW (peak) from 3 692 panels. The expanded project will cover five more rooftops, featuring a total of 26 539 solar panels, reaching a peak capacity of 14.6MW (peak). 

Read: Ford’s giant Pretoria plant moves partially off the grid

The system is expected to contribute 20% to the East London plant’s annual energy consumption.  — © 2023 NewsCentral Media

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