Hondas U.S Motorsports engineering team aided by Solar Technology
4th November 2011
On the 3rd of November 2011 Honda announced that they will be installing their largest commercial solar-cell project in the U.S, at the manufacturers advanced motorsports engineering complex in California. The Honda complex will now feature solar panels on the roof, carport and loading dock canopy, powering the Californian facility, responsible for Honda Le Mans and Indy car models.
It is expected that the installation of Hondas Solar technology at the Honda Performance Development (HPD) will reduce CO2 emissions by around 64 metric tons a year.
The cleverly designed solar system includes tracking technology which allows some of the panels to follow the direction of the sun, and they can also power an electric vehicle charger, showing Honda's ideas for incorporating solar cell and electric vehicle technologies. Output levels will be monitored through an online system.
The technology used is called Honda Soltec and the manufacturer is already using it across 15 sites situated in Japan, this includes most of its factories and research and development facilities located there, with an overall output of 2.5 megawatts.
Honda has an environmental vision, and in 2006 was the first car manufacturer to set their own targets of reducing CO2 emissions from the use of Honda cars, motorbikes and power equipment. They reached these targets last year and has set new targets to be met by the end of 2020.
