Ten million kilometres is a lot of road. It’s long-haul routes through Lithuania in January. Distribution runs in Denmark in November. Intercity coaches crossing Austria in March. Real vehicles, real drivers, real weather – measured day after day, across 132 vehicles, 16 fleet operators, several OEM brands, and 9 countries.
Across every single kilometre, the same thing happened: solar reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
The latest findings from 10 million kms of road-tested solar transport data confirms significant solar savings for VIPV and strengthens the business case for solar.
World’s largest real-world solar dataset for commercial transport
Green Energy has now analysed 10 million kilometres of daily solar production and fuel consumption data from 132 commercial vehicles. Using WiVA (Within Vehicle Analysis) – a methodology that isolates the impact of the solar system from other operational variables – the savings are measured directly on each vehicle, under real operating conditions.
The result is over 32 million data points. And one consistent finding: Solar saves fuel and CO2 across seasons, geographies, different operating profiles, vehicle types and vehicle brands, year after year.
Solar for commercial transport works. Recently published EU-funded independent research pointed in the same direction. The 3-year long SolarMoves study, led by TNO and Fraunhofer ISE, showed significant fuel savings and fast payback on solar for diesel trucks and other vehicles. The WiVA dataset now confirms it at a scale no academic study has reached.
Fuel savings range even more reliable
At 4.2 million kilometres, the truck fuel savings range was 500–1,000 litres per year. Useful, but wide. At 10 million kilometres, it has tightened to 646–847 litres. The mean average fuel saving: 747 litres per truck per year.
More data means greater precision. And a tighter range means a number you can take to your CFO with confidence.
Using a conservative diesel price of €1.40/L, that is around €1,046 per truck per year. Typical payback: 12–18 months.
Solar saves year-round, wherever you operate
Northern Sweden. Shetland Islands. Central Europe. Southern Spain. Different climates, different routes, different vehicle types, different OEMs.
Every operator in the dataset shows positive savings. Not some. Not most. All of them – across all seasons. Solar saves less in December than in June – but it never stops saving.
The business case has never been stronger
Over 3,000 vehicles are already running on Green Energy solar. The 10 million kilometre dataset has taken 132 of them – measured, documented and published. Across 3,000 installations, that equates to ~€4.4 million diesel savings year-on-year returned directly to fleet operators’ P&Ls. The ~7,200 tonnes of CO2 avoided is the equivalent of removing ~3,100 average passenger cars from European roads each year.
The data is there. Download the findings below, or use the savings calculator to see what your fleet could save.
