GM Will Use Wind-Generated Electricity at Texas SUV Plant

General Motors Co. will begin tapping windmills for electricity at its large assembly plant in Arlington, Tex., and three Mexican facilities next year to help lower costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. With the new initiatives, GM says it will exceed its previous goal to use 125 MW of renewable energy by 2020.

The three Mexican facilities will begin switching over to wind power in the first quarter of 2016. The Arlington plant, which makes full-size Chevrolet and GMC SUVs, is expected to ramp-up wind operation by the end of next year.

EDP Renewables North America, a subsidiary of Spain’s EDP Renovaveis SA, will generate the power for the Arlington plant at its new wind farm in Edinburg, Tex. Under the plan, GM will buy 30 megawatts of energy from the 250 MW wind farm, which is produced by a series of 260-ft-tall turbines.

GM say the wind power supplied by EDP will generate enough electricity to make 125,000 of the Arlington plant’s current 200,000-unit annual volume. This will reduce the plant’s energy costs by about $2.8 million per year, according to GM. The company expects the deal with EDP also will reduce Arlington’s CO₂ emissions by more than 1 million metric tons over the life of the 14-year contract.