Nissan Barcelona Plant Installed With Solar Panels

As car manufacturers strive to help in protecting the environment, different stages of car production are made to positively impact the environment. The third largest Japanese car manufacturer Nissan is one of the car manufacturers turning their assembly plants into environment friendly facilities. Recently, the company announced that they will be employing solar panels in their Barcelona assembly plant.





The company announced their Nissan Green Program 2010 last year and this step is part of that program. According to the car company, 606 solar panels will be used in the Barcelona assembly plant. These solar panels will cover about 3,000 square meters. All in all, these solar panels can generate 308,000 kWh of electricity annually. Aside from providing the facility with electricity, the use of solar panels can reduce the emission of carbon dioxide from the facility. According to Nissan, the use of the solar panels can reduce carbon dioxide emission by 110 tons every year.





As of today, 480 of the 660 solar panels are already in place. These solar panels are photovoltaic meaning they convert solar energy to electricity directly. The remaining solar panels are thermal ones which mean that they will be used to heat water for the plant and provide the heat needed in the painting process. These 126 thermal solar panels will be installed by the end of summer.





According to the car manufacturer, the Barcelona assembly plant is their second facility in Spain to use solar panels. This makes Nissan the only car company in the country which promotes the use of solar panels on their factories. Earlier this year, Nissan also announced that their Avila plant will also be installed with 732 solar panels. The use of those solar panels will result in cutting down 267 tons of carbon dioxide every year.





Aside from the use of solar panels in their factories, Nissan is also focusing on the recycling of end of life vehicles. Earlier this year, the company also announced that they have achieved their goals in terms of recycling.





What the company recycles are those residues of the shredding process that end of life vehicles undergo. Airbag components are also being recycled by the company as part of their environmental protection program known as the Nissan Green Program 2010.





In terms of the cars they offer in the global auto market, Nissan promotes the use of CVT or the continuously variable transmission. Almost all of the auto models introduced by Nissan in the market are now being offered with CVT to complement the fuel efficient engine with Nissan knock sensors and other fuel economy enhancing components. The continuously variable transmission provides fuel efficiency since it reduces power loss as the power of the engine runs through the transmission to the drive wheels. The reduced power loss means that the engine would burn relatively less fuel to compensate for the loss.





The company also announced that they are developing a three-liter car. This car is expected to run for a hundred kilometers on three liters of fuel. Aside from that, it seems that Nissan’s Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn has seen that the time is right for hybrid cars as Nissan is on its way to develop a hybrid vehicle of their own.