Phoenix Solar USA
Solar Park Volkswagen Chattanooga
The California based subsidiary of Phoenix Solar AG, Phoenix Solar Inc., partnered with Silicon Ranch Corp. and Volkswagen to build the largest solar park at a U.S car factory and the biggest ground-mounted solar park in Tennessee.
The 9.5 megawatt (MWp) solar system is located on 33 acres adjacent to VW’s manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and will produce around 13.1 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year.
Phoenix Solar provided development and full EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) services for the project as general contractor and was selected because of its global leadership in large scale solar power plant construction, its competitive local permitting know-how and resources.
The electricity produced from the solar park will meet around 12.5 percent of the energy needs of the Chattanooga manufacturing plant during full production, and 100 percent during non-production periods.
Phoenix Solar’s strategic partner, Silicon Ranch, a developer and operator of utility scale solar facilities, owns and manages the solar park. The electricity generated will be consumed entirely by Volkswagen.
| Rated system power | 9.5 MWp |
|---|---|
| Annual energy yield | approx. 13.1 GWh |
| Equivalent to the power consumption of | approx. 1,200 families* |
| CO2 -savings p.a. | approx. 3,753 tons** |
| Inverter | SMA |
| Construction type | ground-mounted construction |
| Tilt angle | 25° |
| Frame technology | Unirac |
| Orientation | South |
* Source: “In 2010, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 11,496 kWh, an average of 958 kilowatthours (kWh) per month.” (U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA): http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3), as of January 2013
** Source: 7.0555 x 10-4 metric tons CO2 / kWh (US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), eGRID2012 Version 1.0, U.S. annual non-baseload CO2 output emission rate, year 2009 data:
http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/refs.html), as of January 2013