American automotive giant General Motors (GM) has agreed to buy 300GWh of wind energy from DTE Energy, as part of its commitment to increase its renewable energy footprint globally.
Image: Pinnebog wind park in Huron County, Michigan. Photo: Courtesy of General Motors.
As part of the agreement, General Motors will buy wind energy in the state of Michigan. The energy being bought by the automaker will be enough to power 100% electricity needs of its global technical center in Warren and its Detroit-based operations at the Renaissance Center. This will be equivalent to the power consumed by 30,000 US households annually.
GM stated that it will source the wind power through an agreement with DTE Energy’s MIGreenPower, a renewable energy program that enables DTE customers to attribute up to 100% of their energy use to DTE clean energy projects in Michigan.
General Motors sustainable energy and supply reliability global manager Rob Threlkeld said: “Investing in renewable energy remains an important part of GM’s vision for a zero emissions future. Our partnership with DTE Energy will help us get closer to achieving our goal of powering all our operations in Michigan with 100 percent clean energy.
“It helps demonstrate that local and regional industry partnerships are paramount to GM’s clean energy future, where renewable sources will account for 100 percent of our global energy footprint by 2050.”
Till now, GM claims to have contracted or invested a total of 1.71terawatt hours of clean energy in North America, which is equivalent of supplying more than 145,000 households.
Last month, DTE received approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission to offer a MIGreenPower program for Michigan corporations and industrial companies who want to power their operations with renewable energy to meet their sustainability goals.
DTE plans to build or acquire additional clean energy projects and expand its program to meet increasing demand from customers. DTE stated that it will begin supplying power to General Motors once, the first new project are online.
The company plans to invest an additional $2bn in wind and solar by 2024 and double its renewable energy generation capacity. It aims to reduce carbon emission by more than 80% by 2050.
Recently, Ford Motor also partnered with DTE Energy to power its Dearborn Truck plant and several new buildings on the Ford Research and Engineering Campus and Corktown campus, including Michigan Central Station, from 100% locally sourced renewable energy.