GM Harnesses the Sun to Power Assembly Plants
Photo courtesy General Motors
NEWPORT, AR— NorthStar Clean Energy’s solar farm here will support the electricity needs of three General Motors assembly plants. The initiative will power two factories in Michigan (Lansing Delta Township Assembly and Lansing Grand River Assembly), in addition to one plant in Missouri (Wentzville Assembly) by adding renewable energy directly to the grid that the facilities source from.
GM has agreed to a 15-year purchase agreement with NorthStar, which is a division of CMS Energy. The Newport project has a capacity of 180 megawatts, which is enough to powe 30,000 homes annually.
“By expanding our renewable electricity portfolio, we are taking a major step forward in reducing our carbon footprint and advancing our broader sustainability goals,” says Rob Threlkeld, director of global energy strategy at GM. “This facility not only supports our renewable electricity strategy, but also demonstrates our dedication to a sustainable future for all.”
According to Threlkeld, this is GMs largest power purchase deal yet and an important milestone in its goal to be carbon neutral by 2040. “We now have in place sourcing agreements from 17 renewable energy plants across 11 states, making GM the automotive industry’s largest buyer of renewable power by capacity,” he points out.
The Newport solar farm features more than 500,000 panels spread across 1,500 acres.
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