As car hire firms strive to implement greener practises, Hertz has announced that it will be introducing solar energy to a number of its US locations by the autumn. The firm piloted its scheme at the end of last year at Denver international Airport, and aims to have similar projects up and running at another 16 outlets including stations in California, New York and Maryland.

The project involves retrofitting facilities with photovoltaic solar panels which will provide a total of 2.3 MW of power. Through the Denver initiative, Hertz said it would be able to offset around 650,000 pounds of CO2 each year.

Richard Broome, the company’s senior vice president, said Hertz was already a market leader when it comes to water saving practices as well as committing to the supply of energy efficient vehicles and cars which are purely run on electric power. The solar power programme will contribute significantly to the firms aim to grow more efficiently through the use of environmental strategies, he added.

At the beginning of the year, Hertz announced that it would be offering the Chevrolet Volt to customers. The Nissan Leaf is also due to make an appearance on forecourts across Europe and the US this year, and by next year the Coda EV sedan will be available for rent at a number of Californian locations.

Rival car rental company Enterprise has announced that it aims to reduce its power consumption by some 20 per cent over the next half-decade and will be investing $150 million with this goal in mind.