General Motors (GM) will be using wind energy to help power one of its manufacturing facilities in Mexico.
GM says the 34 MW of wind power will enable the company to achieve its corporate goal of renewable energy use four years early.
The clean electricity will be supplied under a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) with Enel Green Power; which is commencing construction of a major wind farm in Palo Alto, California in the second quarter of this year.
GM says with the addition of the wind power, 12% of the company’s North American energy consumption will come from renewable sources – up from a current 9%. Seventy-five percent of the energy coming from the seventeen 2-MW wind turbines will power most of GM’s Toluca Complex and the remainder will be used at its Silao, San Luis Potosi and Ramos Arizpe facilities.
“Our commitment to sustainable manufacturing processes is one way we serve and improve the communities in which we work and live,” said Jim DeLuca, GM executive vice president of Global Manufacturing. “Using more renewable energy to power our plants helps us reduce costs, minimize risk and leave a smaller carbon footprint.”
Among its other renewable energy efforts, GM has 46 MW of solar capacity at 18 facilities globally. Its Zaragoza, Spain facility was the world’s largest commercial rooftop solar installation until 2012. Half of the electricity consumed at GM’s California distribution is sourced from solar power via what was the first U.S. public solar project over 1 megawatt; which began operating in 2006.
The cheapest and greenest watt being the one that doesn’t have to be produced, GM has also made solid inroads in energy efficiency.
“We reduced energy use at our global facilities 28% on a per-vehicle-produced basis from 2005 to 2010 and 10% from 2010 to 2013,” states the company’s web site.
Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (EGP-NA) has projects operating and under development in 21 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The company owns and operates over 90 hydropower, wind, geothermal and solar energy plants with an installed capacity exceeding 1.9 GW. EGP-NA has more than doubled its total North American installed capacity since 2010 and says it plans to double it again within the next 5 years.
