Volvo Cars-Chengdu is 100% powered by renewable energy

Chengdu, Volvo Cars' biggest manufacturing plant in China, is now powered by 100 percent renewable electricity.

This is the latest step towards the Swedish company's goal to become a "climate neutral manufacturer" by 2025. Moreover, it's also part of the plan to lessen the overall carbon footprint per car by 40 percent between 2018 and 20125.  Eventually, Volvo Cars wants to be a climate neutral company by 2040.

Just recently, the Chengdu plant has already sourced 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. Its new electricity contract will address the last 30 percent, using around 65 percent of the electricity supply from hydropower. Meanwhile, the remaining energy will come from wind power, solar power, and other renewable sources.

“Our ambition is to reduce our carbon footprint through concrete, tangible actions,” said Javier Varela, head of industrial operations and quality.

"Securing a fully renewable electricity supply for our largest plant in China is a significant milestone and underlines our commitment to taking concrete, meaningful action.”

Commitment to lesser carbon footprint

Volvo Cars is seriously committed to lessening the carbon footprint of its manufacturing network. In Europe, its plants have already established a "climate neutral electricity supply since 2008", while its Skövde engine plant in Sweden became the first network to become totally "climate-neutral two years ago.

Meanwhile, Volvo's Ghent Plant in Belgium installed 15,000 solar panels last 2018. This is the company's biggest-scale solar energy introduction in its worldwide manufacturing network.

"Just in time"

Volvo's ambitions to shift to a more sustainable future is right on time with China's plans to make the auto manufacturing industry more environment-friendly. Similar to Volvo, the country's vision is to move to a more carbon-reduced emission and less carbon footprint from energy generation.

Over the years, China has been considered one of the major contributors of carbon emissions in the world.  According to Forbes, China "had surpassed those of the U.S. in 2005", and has also surpassed both the US and EU's combined emissions by 2012.

If the trends continue, then the country's 1.4 billion population will be "responsible for the most atmospheric carbon dioxide in less than 20 years". 

Photos from Volvo 

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