Sep

GM parts facility adds 1.3M kWh solar array

Posted by admin Published in Solar, Plants/Manufacturing, GM

General Motors is installing a huge solar array on top of their 300,00 sq. ft. service parts warehouse in Fontana, CA that will be capable of generating 1.3 million kWh of electricity annually. The array will generate about half of the electricity requirements of the facility as well as providing suitable potential back to the grid to feed 300 homes.

The company already has a similar array in operation at another warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga. The installation will be done by Constellation Energy and Project Services. Constellation will own, function and preserve the equipment and supply the ability to GM under a long-term contract. The panels are being supplied by United Solar Ovonic.

[Source: General Motors]

General Motors Adds increasingly Solar capability

o. New California array will be one of the largest solar capability installations in the U.S.
o. System will generate green energy for GM and community; reduce greenhouse gas emissions
o. Solar array to produce 1.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year

Fontana, Calif. — General Motors announced nowadays it is adding one of the largest solar potential installations in corporate use in the United States to the roof of its Service and Parts Operations (SPO) warehouse in Fontana, California. The solar potential array will supply about half of the electricity needed to run the facility and will feed abundant additional electricity back to the grid to capability by 300 California homes for a year.

This new array continues the automaker’s leadership in both the use of solar energy and in innovative commerce arrangements that blur old distinctions amidst energy user and energy supplier.

The Fontana solar array will be atop GM’s 300,000 square foot warehouse facility and will become operational in December. It joins a similar sized solar installation at another GM Service and Parts Operations warehouse eight miles absent in Rancho Cucamonga.

Constellation Energy and Project Services has partnered with GM and will design, build, own, and function the Fontana solar array. GM has a long-term contract with Constellation to purchase electricity generated from the system. The solar array provides General Motors a clean, dependable source of energy from its rooftop, without an investment of its own money.

“At General Motors we understand that good environmental decisions are good trade decisions and solar energy is a perfect example of that,” said Elizabeth A. Lowery, GM vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy. ‘The new solar arrays on our rooftops are reducing our energy costs and carbon footprint, while providing green energy to the community.”

General Motors estimates that the solar array at its SPO facility in

Fontana will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 355 metric tons each year, while reducing its electricity costs by about 10 percent a year.

“Reducing overall cost is urgent to our business” said Charlie Hyndman, GM SPO General Director of Warehousing and Distribution. “The solar panels in Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga will help us reduce costs and give our community access to solar ability - it’s a win-win”.

The system will generate about 1.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, about the amount needed to ability 500 homes for one year. Electricity generated by the solar array
- increasingly -
not used by the GM facility will be fed back to the grid for sale to other area residents and businesses. During spring and fall, which are periods of high sunshine combined with low air conditioning needs, the system will generate additional electricity for the grid.

“As a member of WRI’s Green capability Market Development Group, GM has been a valuable partner in demonstrating the commerce case for using renewable energy. GM is one of the main users of solar electricity in both the US and Europe,” said Alexander Perera, director, Green potential Market Development Group.

General Motors partners in the project are United Solar Ovonic, which manufacturers the thin film solar laminates used in the system; Developing Energy Efficient Roof Systems (DEERS), and Constellation Energy and Product Services.

Subhendu Guha, president and chief operating officer of United Solar Ovonic, said: “This is our moment installation for GM after the 1 mega watt solar installation in Rancho Cucamonga. We are gratified, of course, that Uni-Solar panels are the product of choice for GM and for a growing list of corporations advancing the increased use of renewable energy.”

General Motors is one of the largest users of renewable energy in the United States. General Motors (GM) received the Corporate Energy Management of the Year Award from the organization of Energy Engineers (AEE) in August. The award recognizes the company’s worldwide leadership in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

“Today’s announcement hyperlinks to GM’s larger advanced technology strategy that supports the use of alternative energy for our vehicles,” said Lowery. “GM believes alternative energy sources that reduce dependency on oil and advanced technologies that improve fuel economy and reduce emissions are keys to developing sustainable transportation. GM continues to improve the internal combustion engine with advanced technologies and the use of alternative fuels like ethanol. GM is plus committed to producing electrically-propelled vehicles that help diversify energy sources, reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency.”
Original post by Sam Abuelsamid