Panasonic produces its own solar power

Around 24,000 kilowatt hours are produced annually on the roof of the Panasonic office building in Rotkreuz. This is more energy than is currently being consumed at the site.

A photovoltaic system has recently been put into operation at the headquarters of Panasonic Industry Switzerland in Rotkreuz. 80 solar modules have been installed on the roof of the office building, which produce about 24,000 kilowatt hours a year, as the company recently announced. As a result, the system creates  more energy than is currently consumed at the site.

In the press release, Pascal Rey, the head of the Panasonic subsidiary, is quoted as follows: "With these investments in sustainable energy generation, we are making our contribution to the Environment Vision 2050 of the Panasonic Corporation, to which we committed ourselves in 2017. Among other things, the ambitious climate protection targets stipulate that we will achieve a positive overall energy balance: that is, we want to generate more energy than we consume."

Patrick Wahl, the municipal councillor (Gemeinderat) who is responsible for planning/construction/safety in the municipality of Risch, is also satisfied with the project: "We are very pleased that electricity is produced locally and in a climate-friendly manner here on the company’s own initiative, and is also consumed locally."

Pascal Rey (left) in conversation with councillor Patrick Wahl.
Image: PD

Viewing energy consumption in real time
In order to analyse the power consumption of the building and to make optimal use of the generated solar energy, Pascal Rey relies on a development from Panasonic: the so-called Eco-Power Meter. This measures the power consumption of the building and the energy yield of the photovoltaic system, and displays the measurement data via Ethernet and web server. With a live monitoring system, energy consumption can be viewed on an Internet portal in real time, regardless of your own location.

This identifies consumption peaks and controls electricity consumption. This monitoring and evaluation is particularly important with regard to the next steps of the "Environment Vision 2050", according to the company. In order to achieve the sustainability goals, charging stations for electric and hybrid vehicles are to be installed in the future, and an e-bike fleet will ensure climate-neutral mobility. Even with the planned integrated charging technology, the photovoltaic system will still cover about 80% of the energy requirements of the Panasonic Industry Switzerland site.