Dunton, Essex, 29 Jan 2025 – Ford Motor Company’s UK headquarters, the Dunton Campus, has taken a major step towards renewable energy with the commissioning of a new solar farm. Generating over 5,000 MWh of electricity annually, the solar farm produces enough power to supply more than 1,500 homes or fuel a Ford E-Transit for 14 million miles – equivalent to circling the Earth more than 500 times.
The Dunton Campus, Ford’s largest automotive R&D centre in the UK, now features a 5.2 MWp solar PV array with 9,130 panels and 58,000 metres of cabling. This installation will meet approximately 10% of Dunton’s total annual electricity demand of 55,000 MWh, previously fully sourced from certified renewable energy via the National Grid.
Ford remains committed to sustainability, with the Dunton solar farm serving as a key component of the company’s global "Road to Better" initiative, which aims for carbon neutrality across its European operations, including facilities, logistics, and direct suppliers by 2035. This project follows the successful solar switch at Ford’s Daventry site and precedes a similar installation at Halewood scheduled for 2025.
The solar farm was delivered by On-Site Energy (OSE), an independent energy solutions provider. Under the direction of Ford Land, OSE managed the design, procurement, installation, testing, and commissioning of the project in just nine weeks.
David Kipling, CEO of On-Site Energy, commented: “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. 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, added: “Energy has always been a substantial part of our operating costs, and its importance has only increased in recent years. 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.”
Since its establishment in 1959, the Dunton Campus has been central to Ford’s European operations, housing key functions such as engineering, design, manufacturing, and product development. Recent investments, including £47 million in the Advanced Propulsion Laboratory (APL) and the E:PRiME prototype build facility, underscore Dunton’s importance in advancing Ford’s electric vehicle strategy.
Ford, a global American brand woven into the fabric of Europe for more than 100 years, is committed to freedom of movement that goes hand-in-hand with looking after the planet and each other. The company’s Ford+ plan, with Model e, Ford Pro and the Ford Blue business units is accelerating its European transformation to an all-electric and carbon neutral future by 2035. The company is driving forward with bold, new EVs, each one designed with European drivers in mind and innovating with services to help people connect, communities grow, and businesses thrive. Selling and servicing Ford vehicles in 50 individual European markets, operations also include the Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Customer Service Division and 14 manufacturing facilities (eight wholly owned and six unconsolidated joint venture facilities) with four centres based in Cologne, Germany; Valencia, Spain and at our joint venture in Craiova, Romania and Kocaeli, Turkey. Ford employs approximately 34,000 people at its wholly owned facilities and consolidated joint ventures and approximately 56,000 people including unconsolidated businesses across Europe. More information about the company, its products and Ford Credit is available at corporate.ford.com.
Ford UK Press Office
Poppy Mckenzie Smith, Brand & Corporate Communications Manager
