Green power for all ID. models on European roads: Volkswagen supports 26 solar and wind farms – AutoMart Canada

“We plan to step up our commitment in the field of renewable energies each year in line with the development in sales of ID. models,” says Andreas Walingen, CSO and Head of Strategy of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand. “Through the large-scale development of European wind and solar farms, we intend to support our customers in the region in their efforts to always use their ID. vehicles in a net carbon-neutral way. This shows that our commitment to sustainability goes far beyond the electrification of vehicles.”

A solar park in the north of Portugal near Vila Real with over 60 GWh per year and a wind farm in Djupdal, Sweden, which is supported by Volkswagen with a 70% share and produces more than 1,000 GWh of electricity per year, are among the larger green electricity projects supported by the car manufacturer. The company is pushing forward the development of renewable energies throughout Europe. Currently, Volkswagen is supporting 18 photovoltaic plants and eight wind farms in Spain, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. Support is provided over the long term, normally for a period of 10 years. Energy Attribute Certificates confirming the origin of the renewable energy are acquired through these projects.

In 2024 alone, the projects generated a total of about 1.1 TWh of green power, corresponding to the annual demand of about 300,000 households or the calculated electricity demand of the Volkswagen ID. fleet on European roads currently not covered by renewable power. Green power is not yet available everywhere on the road. A study^∗∗ indicates that the share of “grey” electricity currently used for charging is about 40 percent. Through the green power projects, Volkswagen is shifting this share to carbon-neutral over a period of 10 years, assuming that each vehicle travels 200,000 km. By doing so, the ID. vehicles can therefore reach their full potential for the decarbonization of mobility. Decarbonization, with the transformation to e-mobility, is firmly anchored as one of the three main pillars of the Volkswagen sustainability strategy.

Green power considerably reduces the carbon footprint of the ID. models

Drivers of an ID. model can directly influence the carbon balance of their electric car by choosing the type of power to use for charging in the use phase. This is one of the results of the life cycle analyses* conducted by Volkswagen. These analyses determine the CO₂ savings potential of a vehicle over its entire life cycle from raw material extraction through production and use to dismantling for recycling.

The consistent use of green power for charging has a considerable positive effect in leveraging e-mobility. This is confirmed, for example, by the life cycle analysis for the ID.4 Pro reviewed by TÜV NORD CERT Prüf- und Umweltgutachtergesellschaft mbH*. The life cycle analysis compares the footprint of the vehicle over a total mileage of 200,000 kilometers with a comparable diesel model. In this comparison, the ID.4 Pro causes about 25 percent lower CO₂ emissions over its life cycle than the diesel model. If the ID.4 Pro is consistently charged using the EU green electricity grid mix, emissions are even about 50 percent lower. The initially higher CO₂ emissions during the production phase of an electric vehicle are counteracted during the use phase. This effect can be further reinforced by consistently charging green power. Specifically, the comparison mentioned above indicates that an ID.4 Pro operated consistently using the EU green electricity grid mix has a lower carbon footprint after about 66,000 km at the latest. This point is reached at about 97,000 km with the conventional EU electricity grid mix.