GM plant in Maryland to get solar panels
GM's hybrid transmission plant goes solar
This sounds like it must have been a really easy decision for General Motors: Install a brand new solar array which will provide 1.2-megawatts of power - enough to cut its electricity bill by 20-percent per year beginning in 2009 - for free. We wish somebody would make an offer like that to us. Unfortunately, our homes don't quite have the 300,000 square feet of roof space necessary to hold the 8,700 solar panels. Although the General already has two warehouses with solar roof installations, the White Marsh plant is the first factory to be so equipped. SunEdison will put up the panels and make money by selling the electricity that GM doesn't use.
What's especially cool about this particular story is that the White Mash plant in Maryland is where the Allison transmissions are built, including the 2-Mode unit used in the Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon twins, Cadillac Escalade hybrid SUVs and soon for the 2-Mode-equipped hybrid full-size trucks. Also of note is the fact that all the waste heat from the factory is reused and it reached landfill-free status in 2007.
[Source: The Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Scott 8:41PM (8/23/2008)
This is great news! Now I can go back to revving the motor of my escalade at redlights again and it will be carbon-neutral.
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Bill 6:02PM (8/21/2008)
"cut its electricity bill by 20-percent per year"
"SunEdison will put up the panels and make money by selling the electricity that GM doesn't use."
Clearly there's some missing info on the deal: how can SunEdison make money on "excess" energy if the panels only provide 20% of what the plant needs?
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GoodCheer 6:45PM (8/21/2008)
Bill: It's the fluctuating output of solar, which is not necessarily well correlated to the power needs of the factory. For much of the year (including nights) the panels will not provide as much juice as the plant uses, but on clear days in the middle of the day the array may produce a significant excess beyond the building's power needs.
As an aside, fluctuations in solar output is remarkably well correlated to air conditioning loads, which are a major contributor to daily grid load (in the summer at least).
jwer 9:17AM (8/22/2008)
All references should be to "White Marsh" not "White Mash".
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DaChemist 10:24AM (8/22/2008)
Additionally, don't forget that when the plant is shut down during the weekend, holidays, etc, the panels still provide power which SunEdison would sell back to the grid.
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Colin 11:40AM (8/22/2008)
Of course if Toyota was doing this it would be page A1 on the New York Times (remember all the pub they got just for talking about putting a solar powered cig lighter in the next Prius?).
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dr61 1:11PM (8/22/2008)
"Unfortunately, our homes don't quite have the 300,000 square feet of roof space necessary to hold the 8,700 solar panels."
You do not need 300,000 sq. ft. to power your home. Our house needs less than 300 sq. ft. of PV panels to supply all our electric use on a yearly basis.
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