GM Going PV

The word is out that going green is not just about environmental altruism; it also makes smart business sense, and the business community is finally starting to notice, as General Motors announced on Tuesday that it will build the world’s largest PV array on the rooftop of its factory in Zaragosa, Spain.

The 10MW array, to be completed by the end of September, will consist of over 85,000 solar panels and will generate the energy equivalent of 4,600 households. Though its primary use will be to power GM’s automobile assembly plant, thereby cutting significant manufacturing costs, the array will also take advantage of Spain’s generous net-metering policies by selling solar-generated electricity back into the local power grid. To its credit, General Motors has been one of the earliest and most active proponents of solar energy in the corporate sphere, housing two of the largest PV arrays in the US on their warehouses in Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, both in California, and is contemplating the installation of similar arrays on its 19 other EU-based facilities and one in Saint Petersburg, depending on the success of the Zaragosa array. If it meets expectations, the tipping point in favor of PV may have finally arrived…


Posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 3:30 pm | Tagged in Energy, Green Building, Photovoltaics, Solar One, Sustainability | posted by Bill

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