SUSTAINABILITY
Local Solutions, Scalable Impact: Our Renewable Energy Journey
At General Motors we are working hard to combat climate change and reduce our environmental impact. One of the key ways we are working to reduce our emissions is through alternative sources of energy which produce no greenhouse gas emissions.
How we source the energy to power our facilities and products is essential to our zero-emissions, all-electric vision for the future.
Our commitment to renewable energy use began more than two decades ago and is expected to culminate by 2040 when we plan to source 100 percent renewable energy to meet GM’s global electricity needs. In the meantime, we plan to achieve 60 percent globally by 2025 and 100 percent of U.S. sites by 2030.
For us, transforming the communities where the GM family works and lives is a key value. And locally sourced renewables can help our communities’ transition to a clean grid.
Our four-pillar renewable energy strategy focuses on ensuring that the volume of electricity will eventually come from 100 percent renewable energy sources by:
1Energy Efficiency
Focus first on energy efficiency through investments in new technology and daily efforts to conserve electricity in facilities.
GM spends about $20 million annually on energy efficiency and power demand projects.
2Sourcing Renewables
Focus on sourcing renewables through different methods, such as on-site projects, power purchase agreements and green tariffs.
Our SE Michigan sites are powered by renewable energy from new projects in the state of Michigan, which will lead to about 1,200 Michigan jobs.
3Energy Storage
The sun does not always shine, and the wind does not always blow, so energy storage is a reliable way to help tackle the intermittency challenge. We have rich expertise in battery and fuel cells and operate the largest and most advanced battery test lab in America for over a decade. We can leverage our global capabilities and resources to better understand these technologies in a variety of potential deployments, including the reuse of EV batteries after their first life in a vehicle.
4Leveraging Policy and Scale
It takes scale to drive down cost. Leveraging our policy and the scale of the company with efforts like the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) help to drive momentum. We see green tariffs – working with electric utilities to allow companies and customers greater access to source electricity from renewable sources through a fixed rate – as a significant part of our renewable energy plan. Vehicle-grid integration and services associated with electrification provide complementary strategies to reimagining local distribution grids.
“As we continue the transition to an all-electric, zero-emissions future, it is imperative that we also invest in a clean grid that can support everything from our factories to our vehicles. We are exploring the next frontier of renewable energy, which integrates the principles of circularity and energy storage, among others.”
GM Chief Sustainability Officer Dane Parker
As we work toward our 100 percent goal, we will continue to build on our strategy to focus on local solutions to help reduce tailpipe emissions within the communities where we operate. See below for more information on our commitments:
- Ending 2019 with 23 sites completely powered by renewable energy, including our Arlington, Texas, assembly plant that is completely powered by wind energy.
- In the second quarter of 2020, we executed our largest solar project of 300 megawatts in Michigan through a green tariff agreement, making all GM sites in Southeast Michigan served by DTE on renewable power, including our global headquarters in Detroit and Warren Technical Center, and as part of DTE’s MIGreenPower program we will source 500 megawatts of solar energy.
- Our solar agreement in Arkansas will be our first project to source panels from First Solar in Ohio – an American manufacturer of solar panels – and will put us over the 1 gigawatt threshold of renewable energy use. With the help of First Solar, their circularity and sustainable panels technology, we are defining the future of solar energy in the U.S.
- By late 2022, our largest facility in North America, Spring Hill Manufacturing, is expected to be powered by 100 percent solar energy. This will be made possible through a green tariff agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority, which is expected to supply up to 100 megawatts of solar energy per year.
- We earned recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Excellence in Green Power Use category for the 2020 Green Power Leadership Awards.
To learn more about our sustainability commitments and how we are driving toward a zero-emissions future, view our latest sustainability report.