Ford’s Michigan Assembly plant goes green with solar power

A Ford SUV factory, been producing gas guzzling four wheelers all this while, has had a green change of heart. The factory will now produce a much more environmentally pleasant batch of fuel-efficient cars instead. And that’s not all. The factory, Ford’s Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan, will also have a 500-kilowatt solar array and battery energy storage from Xtreme Power by a hook up with utility Detroit Edison that will do the installing. Installations will cost a total of $5.8 million,, starting later this year, and turning Ford’s image a lot greener than it already is. Besides helping offset the plants power usage by connecting to the grid, the solar panels will also help juice up the 750-kilowatt energy storage system, capable of storing two megawatt-hours of energy.

Ford anticipates saving up at least $160,000 a year in energy costs by this system, which will also include 10 electric vehicle charging stations to charge electric trucks that will be used for transport between facilities. Ford sure is doing its best at going green!
[Cnet]