GM to Provide Chevy Dealers with Solar Canopies to Charge Volts
by Eric Ayapana, MOTOR TREND, August 1, 2011
The balloons and the billboards advertising “low, low financing” commonly found at Chevy dealers will soon be overshadowed by something else: solar panels. General Motors has just kicked off its Green Zone initiative, which includes the installation of solar canopies at Chevrolet dealers throughout North America.
The canopies will primarily serve as an electric charging station with the capacity to replenish a dozen Chevy Volts daily. Additionally, the extra power harnessed from the sun can be fed back to the grid to supplement the dealership’s energy usage.
Better yet, it will cost the dealers nothing to have the Green Zone canopies installed on their lots. Two U.S. Chevy dealers are the first to take advantage of the deal they couldn’t refuse: American Chevrolet in Modesto, California and Al Serra Auto Plaza in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
“The question isn’t whether to install a solar canopy, it’s where and how many,” said Joe Serra, president of Serra Automotive. “It’s a win for us because the electricity generated will help reduce operating costs, and it’s a win for the environment since solar power helps reduce our carbon footprint.”
GM first demonstrated the Green Zone project at its Detroit Hamtramck assembly plant, where the Volt is built. The initiative is part of a $7.5 million investment into private company Sunlogics, which will provide and install the dealer solar canopies.
“Just one of these canopies provides enough renewable energy to power two to three homes per year, or more than 25 percent of a dealership’s energy consumption,” said Chris Perry, vice president, Global Chevrolet Marketing and Strategy. “Collectively, that will be a lot of power we are putting back into the grid.”
GM is currently leads all auto manufacturers in solar power usage. It has installed three solar power installations at three of its U.S. plants and has the world’s largest rooftop panel array at its assembly plant in Zaragoza, Spain. [Read original story]