The Ford Campus at Dunton, Essex, now has a new solar farm, reducing reliance on grid electricity. The site now generates over 5,000 MWh of electricity annually — enough to power an E-Transit van for 14 million miles!
A move towards renewable energy
Dunton, Ford’s largest research and development facility in the UK, now has a 5.2MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) array with 9,130 panels and 58,000 metres of cabling. The solar farm will provide about 10% of the site’s electricity — the site uses around 55,000MWh annually — which was previously sourced from renewable energy via the National Grid.
This project is part of Ford’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions across its European operations by 2035. The Dunton installation follows a similar solar project at Ford’s Daventry site, with another planned for Halewood in 2025.
On-Site Energy (OSE) developed the solar farm, completing design, procurement, and installation in just nine weeks.
“To construct 5.2 MWp of solar panels within nine weeks in a standard solar farm is challenging, but completing it on such a customised site with complex logistics required significant collaboration with Ford,” said David Kipling, CEO of On-Site Energy. “We are proud to complete our third energy project with Ford and look forward to continuing our partnership on sustainability.”
Kevin Clarkson, Program Coordinator at Ford Land, highlighted the growing importance of energy management, saying, “Energy has always been a substantial part of our operating costs. Increasing our renewable energy capacity is as critical as the shift to electric mobility. Ford Land’s vision is to establish large-scale renewable energy assets at all major European sites.”
Dunton’s role in Ford’s EV plans
Dunton has been a key part of Ford’s European operations since 1959, with engineering, design, and product development based there. Recent investments, such as £47 million for the Advanced Propulsion Laboratory (APL) and the E:PRiME prototype facility, show Ford’s ongoing focus on electric vehicles.
Future plans
Ford continues to add renewable energy to its UK sites, with Halewood set to get solar panels in 2025. The company is looking to reduce its environmental impact while cutting long-term energy costs.
