OTTAWA, OH—Whirlpool Corp. began construction on a $3.3-million wind-turbine project at its freezer assembly plant here. The project will generate more than 30 percent of the plant’s power needs.
FINDLAY, OH—Whirlpool Corp. is using wind energy to power its assembly plant here. Two wind turbines will supply approximately 22 percent of the plant’s electricity.
SAO PAULO, Brazil—A wind farm will power Honda’s automotive assembly plant here. Located hundreds of miles away, the farm has nine 3-megawatt turbines that are expected to generate all the electricity required for Honda’s annual production requirements.
RUSSELLS POINT, OH—Just six months after installing two wind turbines at its assembly plant here, Honda Transmission Manufacturing of America Inc. has reported that the machines are producing more electrical power than was anticipated. The turbines have exceeded the projected power output figures by 6.3 percent.
Manufacturers are pursuing a wide variety of “green” initiatives, such as energy-efficient lighting, landfill gas, recycling, solar panels and wind turbines. In fact, more than one-half of our 2014 State of the Profession respondents claim their plant has implemented green-related programs during the past 12 months. That’s a 3 percentage point increase over 2013 and 8 percentage points higher than 2012.
