PUY-EN-VELAY, France (Sept. 23, 2011)—Michelin has installed 17,000 solar panels on the roof of its earthmover tire plant in Puy-en-Velay rated to generate 3,000 megawatt/hours of power a year.
The solar panels, installed by the power company EDF Energies Nouvelles, represent the largest such industrial installation in France, Michelin said.
This is the sixth time Michelin has installed solar panels on a plant, but the first time in France. The panels cover three-fourths of the plant's 323,000 square feet of roof space, Michelin said.
The power generated is equivalent to the electricity needed for 1,200 typical homes and represents a reduction in CO2 output of 300 metric tons a year.
Michelin's five other solar installations generate a combined 13,000 megawatt/hours of power a year.
Additionally the company is generating power at its plant in Dundee, Scotland, via two windmills, is installing more windmills at its plant in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, for a 2012 start-up, and has biomass-fueled boilers at two other French plants.
The plant in Puy-en-Velay is ISO 140001 certified since 2003 and recycles 100 percent of its scrap, Michelin said.