The largest solar rooftop on the planet is being installed by none other than American automotive giant General Motors. The company announced on Tuesday that it plans to install the biggest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation on Earth on top of its car assembly plant at Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Spain. The installation will cover over 2 million square feet of space with renewable electricity producing photovoltaic cells on 85,000 solar panels.

Partnering with Clairvoyant Energy, Veolia Environmental and the Government of the Spanish state of Aragon, GM will produce over 12 MW at peak output on the Zaragoza rooftop using United Solar Ovonic thin laminate panels - enough to power over 4,500 households per year. GM already operates two of the largest solar power installations in the United States at its plants at Fontana and Rancho Cucamongo, California. The latter facility powers 50% of its electricity by the solar installation.

I admit it, I’ve been a little rough on GM in the past. Notably when Merrill Lynch said bankruptcy for the mega-corporation was “not impossible” I wrote that given the environmental impact of the company’s products they’d be a little hard to miss should they disappear from the economy. But these are obviously steps in the right direction for the future of industry everywhere, not just at General Motors. GM is going to face some tough choices in the near future in how to realign its business model in the era of peak oil. Another positive step the corporation has made is the development of the plug in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, currently due out in 2010. So here’s hoping that GM finds the new religion of renewable energy and is born again as a leaner, meaner economic machine that can drive us into a bright & clean energy independent future.

You can takepart in keeping up to date on energy efficient automobile technology by checking out Hybrid Car Blog.

LINKS:

FOX Business: GM Adding World’s Largest Rooftop Solar Power Installation to Zaragoza Plant

The Guardian: GM installs world’s biggest rooftop solar panels

Business Week: GM to have world’s largest rooftop solar system