GM has announced the company’s factories will soon be powered by wind, after signing an agreement with Enel Green Power for 17 wind turbines.
According to a company press release, the 17 turbines will pump out 34 megawatts of wind power for GM’s 104-acre Toluca Complex in Mexico.
At the moment, construction on the project is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2015, with 75% of the energy generated by the wind turbines taking care of almost all of the electricity demand in GM’s Mexico facilities.
The remaining 25% will be delegated to GM’s Silao, San Luis Potosi, and Ramos Arizpe complexes.
Incredibly, experts believe this energy transition will help alleviate nearly 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions at these facilities annually.
Jim DeLuca, GM’s executive vice president of global manufacturing, said in a statement, “Our commitment to sustainable manufacturing processes is one way we serve and improve the communities in which we work and live. Using more renewable energy to power our plants helps us reduce costs, minimize risk and leave a smaller carbon footprint.”
Between landfill gas, solar, and wast energy, GM already uses renewable energy to power 9% of operations in North America. This new wind energy project will likely bring that number up to around 12% renewable energy use, a good sign moving into the future for both GM and the environment.
GM global manager of renewable energy, Rob Threlkeld, says, “This is the largest power purchase agreement that we’ve done to date. It also helps us diversify our portfolio of energy sources—it’s cheaper than our current source of power in Mexico—and it makes sense from a sustainable standpoint.”
