Arlington GM Plant To Go All Green
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DETROIT (CBSDFW.COM) - Starting in 2018, the GM Arlington Assembly, which is already 50 percent powered by renewable energy, will have all of its electricity needs met with green power.
General Motors said Friday it has purchased enough wind power to equal the electricity needs of 16 of its U.S. facilities, including its major assembly and stamping complex in Arlington and 13 parts warehouses east of the Mississippi River.
The carmaker calls this its largest renewable energy procurement to date.
GM said in a news release it will source wind power through an agreement with Renewable Energy Systems, a global renewable energy and energy storage development and construction company.
The company said it will purchase 50 megawatts of power produced at Cactus Flats, a 150-megawatt wind farm being developed by RES in Concho County, Texas.
When the contract begins in the first half of 2018, 6 percent of GM's global energy use will be powered by renewable energy.
"GM's commitment to renewable energy is helping transform the way electricity is produced, distributed and consumed around the world, and we're doing it in a way that makes our company and communities stronger," said Rob Threlkeld, GM global manager of renewable energy. "These renewable energy investments drive down greenhouse gas emissions, reduce our dependence on finite resources, and help keep our air and water clean.
"Investing in Texas wind energy is an important step on a journey that will see clean, renewable sources account for 100 percent of GM's global energy footprint by 2050."
In addition to an anticipated 114 megawatts of wind power, GM hosts 24 solar installations around the world and is the No. 1 automotive user of solar energy in the U.S., according to a report released this month by the Solar Energy Industries Association.
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