Vw increases its investment in friendly energy up to nearly 1 billion euros

Volkswagen announced that it will raise its investment in the production of environmentally friendly energy up to nearly 1 billion euros ($1.44 billion) in more than two years, according to reports in Germany. This is a boost over VW’s initial commitment to renewable energy as it had said last June that it has a mid-term target of about 600 million euros. VW is aiming to purchase an interest in a minimum of two offshore windparks.

It is expected that VW will announce its partnership with windpark developer Windreich Financial Times Deutschland by the end of 2011, according to Autonews. This is not the first time that Volkswagen has dabbled with wind energy. VW rolls out the Passat in the municipal utility in the German port city of Emden, which runs a windpark that supplies about 20 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

A Volkswagen spokesman said that talks are ongoing with operators about a stake in offshore windparks. In late June, a deal was signed by the group's plant unit Volkswagen Kraftwerk GmbH to generate about 10% of the electricity used in its 12 German manufacturing plants from hydropower produced by Austria's Verbund beginning in 2013. Volkswagen intends to cut the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from its production plants by 40% over a 10-year period compared with 2010.[via : 4wheelsnews]

photo : 2012 Volkswagen Up!