Renewable Energy Use
Ford Motor Company is highly involved in the installation, demonstration and development of alternative sources of energy. Examples of installed technologies include a photovoltaic array and solar thermal collector at the Ford Rouge Visitors Center. The adjacent Dearborn Truck Plant has the world's largest living roof system, which uses a thick carpet of plants to reduce the need for heating and cooling, while also absorbing rainwater. In addition, a geothermal system installed at the Lima Engine Plant provides process cooling for plant operations, as well as air tempering for employee comfort. This system uses naturally cooled 40°F water from two abandoned limestone quarries located on the plant site. The installation cost was comparable to that of the traditional chiller and cooling tower design it displaced. This award-winning project eliminates the emission of 4,300 metric tons of CO2 each year. Other alternative energy systems in place include reclaimed landfill gas and low-impact hydropower. These installations combine to reduce CO2 emissions by 144,000 metric tons per year.
In the UK, construction was completed in 2004 on London's first wind power park, at Ford's Dagenham complex. The wind turbines provide 100 percent of the electricity required for our new Dagenham Diesel Centre [link to case study]. This is equivalent to the electricity needs of more than 2,000 homes and saves 6,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere each year. In 2007, Dagenham added a third wind turbine to remain 100 percent wind powered, following the installation of a new 1.4/1.6-liter Duratorq TDCi engine line. The third Ecotricity turbine has the capacity to produce 1.8 megawatts of green electricity – the equivalent of powering 1,000 homes. The Dagenham facility has also reduced its gas and electricity bills by 12 percent, by reducing the use of high-energy-intensity operations such as the generation of compressed air for handheld tools on the production line. High-energy-usage equipment was scientifically optimized on Dagenham's new 1.4/1.6 line, which requires 70 percent less energy per engine than other manufacturing lines. In 2007, Dagenham was nominated for a national "Award for Excellence 2007" by a UK organization called Business in the Community, for the facility's CO2 reduction, energy efficiency and other environmental actions.
In Germany, Ford is now sourcing renewable electricity to cover the full electric power demand of its manufacturing and engineering facilities in Cologne, including the electricity needed to assemble its Fiesta and Fusion models. Through this initiative, the Company will reduce its CO2 emissions by 190,000 metric tons per year. The green electric power is recognized as coming from a fully renewable, environmentally friendly source; it is generated by three hydropower plants in Norway and Sweden, owned by Vannkraft AS (Norway) and Fortum AB (Sweden), and provided to Ford through the Cologne-based energy infrastructure service provider Rhein Energie AG.
In Wales, Ford's Bridgend engine plant was the first site retrofitted with one of the largest integrated, grid-connected solar/photovoltaic installations at a car manufacturing plant in Europe.
During 2006, we piloted carbon-neutral manufacturing for our hybrid vehicles. We offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacturing of these vehicles by purchasing carbon offset credits, many of which will fund renewable energy projects. For example, we purchased renewable energy certificates from wind power projects to offset the CO2 generated in the manufacturing of the 2007 Escape Hybrid. Each customer of a 2007 model Escape Hybrid received a letter explaining the program and a decal to identify their vehicle as having been built "carbon-neutral."
Globally, renewable or "green" power supplies 3 percent of Ford's energy needs.