Renault Plugs in 99-Acre Solar Power System

Renault SA has simultaneously activated 4.3 million square feet of photovoltaic panels at six sites in France. The company describes the 59-megawatt system as the largest anywhere in the auto industry.

Renault figures the arrays could product 52,600 MWh of electricity per year at a rate of 1 MW per panel, enough to power a town of 15,000 inhabitants.

The arrays range in output from 10.4 MWh at the company's big assembly plant in Douai to 4.3 MWh at its engine making facility in Cleon.