WOLFSBURG (dpa-AFX) - Despite the recent slowdown in demand for e-cars, Volkswagen continues to invest in wind and solar power. "Alongside the ongoing sales of the ID. models, we plan to further expand our commitment to renewable energies every year," said Andreas Walingen, chief strategist of the core VW brand. Volkswagen did not provide details of new projects or specific expansion targets. This also depends on how demand for electric cars develops.

In 2020, Europe's largest carmaker announced that it would invest a total of 40 million euros in new wind and solar parks in Europe by 2025. In implementing this, VW is relying on cooperation with local energy suppliers. The first project, together with RWE, went online at the end of 2021. According to Walinger, 26 plants are now in operation in nine European countries, including eight wind farms and 18 solar parks.

Electricity for 300,000 households

"A large-scale expansion of European wind and solar parks" is needed to enable a CO2-neutral operation of electric vehicles, Wallinger explained. With the new wind and solar parks, VW wants to offset the energy consumption of its electric cars, which are still charged with conventional electricity.

Last year, they claim, they already succeeded: Together, the plants fed 1.1 terawatt hours into the grid. This corresponds to the consumption of around 300,000 households – or the calculated electricity consumption of all VW ID models on Europe's roads that are not yet charged with pure green electricity./fjo/DP/mis