Solar panels help Porsche Amsterdam become a self-sufficient workshop
At Porsche Amsterdam, renovation plans coincided with a CSR sprint. And it paid off. They decided to make full use of the space on the roof, resulting in a completely self-sufficient extension of the workshop.
Porsche Amsterdam
Driving along the A2, along Amsterdam Zuidoost, it’s hard to miss the shiny fleet of Porsche Amsterdam. This beautiful location is home to one of the largest Porsche showrooms in Europe. Nearly 50 Porsche specialists work non-stop to serve car enthusiasts. And successfully so! That success resulted in renovation plans in 2023; an extension of the workshop was planned, topped with a flat roof, which in the initial plans only served to keep the workshop dry. But that changed; various action points emerged from a sprint in which Porsche Amsterdam tried to give wings to its Social Corporate Responsibility objectives. From replacing chemicals with environmentally friendly options to electrifying its own fleet: Porsche Amsterdam opted for greener operations.
Greener Porsche
Of course, in these greener operations, using the empty roof surface of the planned workshop expansion was inevitable. In fact; the more than 238 solar panels could make the workshop self-sufficient. Green, sustainable and economically attractive, but also necessary at that time: due to grid congestion, the workshop seemed unable to get the connection to the power grid that was needed.
Porsche Amsterdam’s green vision fits seamlessly with the Dealership Sustainability Initiative with which car manufacturer Porsche encourages its dealers to optimise the environmental characteristics of buildings and dealer activities and to improve energy efficiency.
An interesting fact is that more than 70% of all Porsche cars ever made are still on the road today. Talking about sustainability!
“The quote was competitive, but we also had a solid and flexible organisation.”
Competitive quote
The fact that Porsche Amsterdam awarded the contract to Pon Power was partly thanks to the competitive quote. Hylke Gerritsen of Porsche Amsterdam: “Yes, it was a competitive quote and of course that’s important. But we also had a solid and flexible organisation. Once we started the project and the situation regarding reverse supply to the power grid changed, it paid off. The plans were changed more than once and in that respect Pon Power really took the project off our hands. Everything ran smoothly and that resulted in a tailor-made solution that looked after itself.”
“Porsche Amsterdam’s good preparation enabled us to immediately get to work purposively.”
Well done by Porsche Amsterdam
The short lead time of this project was partly made possible by good preparatory work by Porsche Amsterdam. Ferry Benjamin is a Senior Project Manager Solar at Pon Power and explains: “The plans for this solar field were well anchored in the renovation plans for this building. For instance, the construction team already planned a separate construction of the distribution box and solar system by installing a PV distributor. This prevents a lot of Scope12 issues and enabled us to immediately get to work purposively. And if consultation was necessary, the lines with Porsche Amsterdam turned out to be very short. Smooth communications ensure a smooth project; the proof was in this pudding.”
Were there no challenges at all? Ferry: “Real challenges? No. The only thing worth mentioning is the connection of the solar system to the lightning system. As a result, we had to use string boxes that serve as overvoltage protection. And we have placed a PV shelter on the roof to give the inverters the necessary space to dissipate heat. We just didn’t have the space for that inside.”
Facts & figures
107,1 KWP
This is the total installed power of this solar field
95.000 KWH
The expected annual yield is almost 100,000 kWh
450WP
The Renesola solar panels we supply have a capacity of 450 Wp per panel
80%
The capacity guarantee after 25 years is 80% of the original
12 jaar
The capacity guarantee after 25 years is 80% of the original
19 jaar
Renesola has been making solar panels since 2005 and the products have an impeccable track record
