Ford, DTE Energy Team Up for Michigan Solar Array
The Ford Research & Engineering Center in Dearborn, Michigan, is receiving a new 2,159-panel solar array. Capable of generating 1,127 megawatt hours of energy, the rooftop array is the latest development stemming from a partnership between Ford and DTE Energy. Ford’s Sustainable Path Ford: All-new F-150 adds mighty, efficient PowerBoost hybrid V6 Ford and DTE […]
Toyota Invests $9.3 Million in 10.8 Acres of U.S. Solar Arrays
Toyota is investing $9.3 million in new solar arrays across its plants in Alabama, Missouri, and West Virginia to reduce its reliance on outside energy needs. The array at its plant in Buffalo, West Virginia, will be the largest one in the state, while the one in Huntsville, Alabama, will span 3.3 acres, making it […]
New Toyota Headquarters to Open With 7.7-Megawatt Solar Array
Toyota has announced that its new North American headquarters in Plano, TX, will open with a 7.7-megawatt solar array—not enough to make their cars go back to the future, but enough to provide a quarter of the power the 2.1-million-square-foot campus requires. The announcement goes hand-in-hand with one made by MP2 Energy, the Texas-based energy […]
GM Adding 4.25-Acre Solar Array to Warren Transmission
General Motors announced on Monday that it will be partnering with DTE Energy to build a new 800-kilowatt solar array for its Warren Transmission plant. The array, which will cover 4.25 acres of GM-leased land and consisting of 2,800 different solar panels, will be GM’s largest solar installation in all of Michigan. GM says that […]
Lordstown Plant’s Solar Array Will Be GM’s Largest in Western Hemisphere
By the end of this year, work on GM’s Lordstown plant’s solar array will be complete. The solar array at the Lordstown Complex in Lordstown, Ohio, will be a 2.2 megawatt ground-mounted array, making it The General’s biggest in the Western Hemisphere. Less than a year ago, GM installed a 1.8 megawatt solar array at […]
North Wales Factory Goes Solar with Toyota UK’s Solar Array
Over in the United Kingdom, Toyota is embracing alternative energy as a means of fueling one of its main production plants. Toyota UK’s Deeside factory in North Wales received almost 13,000 solar panels earlier this week—enough to power up to 10 percent of the entire building, and build up to 22,500 engines per year. Although […]
Ford, DTE Energy Plan Solar Array at Ford World HQ
Ford is paving the way for employees at their World Headquarters to charge their plug-in electric vehicles while they work by teaming with DTE Energy to create the largest solar array in Michigan. The 360-parking-space-sized solar array will boast 30 charging stations and will be the second largest solar carport in the Midwest (right behind […]
3 Acres of GM Solar Arrays Added in Michigan
General Motors this week announced that it would be adding a total of 3 acres of new solar arrays at two different facilities in Michigan. The GM solar arrays will be built at the Swartz Creek processing center and the Flint engine plant. These arrays will together produce about 400,000 kilowatt hours of renewable energy […]
Toyota’s New Solar Roof Could Add 28 Miles of Range to Prius Plug-In
Toyota is testing a new and improved version of the solar power cells it first introduced on the Prius PHV, a Japan-exclusive variant of the popular hybrid car. Developed in partnership with NEDO, a Japanese national research organization, and Sharp, who manufactures the cells, Toyota’s new prototype can convert solar energy at 34 percent efficiency, […]
UI Students to Build Solar Car, Promoting Sustainable Technology and Increasing Interest in STEM
The University of Iowa (UI) Solar car team is raising funds to build a fully solar-powered car that they will race in the Solar Car Challenge, this July. The event is a two-week affair that spans from Nebraska to Oregon. The UI team’s goal is to raise up to $80,000, which would go towards the process […]
Green Cars Get Greener: Solar and Wind Are Now Apparently Cheaper Than Natural Gas
Here on The News Wheel, we have kept an eye on the state of energy generation in our country, for the simple reason that, as the manner in which we generate electricity gets greener, so do vehicles that rely on electricity for power–such as plug-in hybrids like the Ford Fusion Energi or full-on electric cars […]
Uber, Lyft Drivers May Soon Try to Sell You Solar Panels
Things are about to get a little awkward for Uber or Lyft patrons in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Dallas, and Miami, as a number of drivers in those area are being enlisted to, while driving you to your destination, sell you solar panels. The company behind this practice is called Geostellar, […]
GM Ranked No. 1 for US Solar Energy Use
General Motors was ranked number one among automakers in terms of its use of solar energy in the United states in the annual Solar Means Business report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association. The honor comes as GM prepares to break ground on an 850-kilowatt solar array at its Bowling Green Assembly plant. What’s […]
Dutch Team Wins World Solar Challenge, a Solar-Powered Race Across Australia
As temperatures start to fall here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s easy to forget that south of the equator things are getting brighter and sunnier. This is especially true for Australia—and that is why October is the setting of the World Solar Challenge, a 1,800-mile race across the blazing Australian outback with only the sun […]
GM Baltimore Plant Adds Solar Energy to Electric Car Production
General Motors’ Baltimore Complex is striving to go green, both in what GM is manufacturing there and in how the company is powering the plant. Not only is the Spark EV’s electric motor and drive unit being manufactured at the Baltimore Complex, but the complex has just recently added a solar array to its roof, […]
Ford to Debut C-Max Solar Energi Concept at CES This Week
These days, car shoppers have their fair share of choices as far as energy options for their vehicles: standard gasoline, clean diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric are all viable options while the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle seems to be just around the corner. Ford is looking to add another option into the fray with […]
2019 Brought Cleaner Air Due to More Coal Plant Shutdowns
According to the latest data from the U.S. government and Thomson Reuters, coal plants closed at a record rate last year, resulting in greener production methods for electric vehicles. Here’s a brief overview of the statistics, as well as some more eco-friendly changes that occurred in 2019. Go Farther with Green Energy: Learn about the […]
German Consumers Shift to Home Batteries to Power Their Households and EVs
The latest statistics from Germany indicate that home batteries are a growing trend with consumers. One out of every two orders for rooftop solar panels sells as part of a battery storage system, per Yale Environment 360’s Paul Hockenos. And more than 120,000 German households and small-business owners are investing in solar units with battery […]