General Motors to build first electric motor plant in the US

General Motors (GM) yesterday said that it will build an electric motor plant near Baltimore, Maryland, the first such plant to be put up in the country by a US automaker for making critical components for electric vehicles.

The Detroit-based auto giant has allocated $269.5 million to the building of the plan, which is scheduled to become operational in 2013. Electric motor design and production is a core business for GM in the development and manufacture of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles.

The plant will be powered in part by a 1.23 MW rooftop solar array, expected to generate nine per cent of its annual energy consumption and save approximately $330,000 during the life of the project.

''By harnessing solar energy from this array, GM will offset up to 1,103 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the air per year – equivalent to the emissions from 216 passenger vehicles,'' said Mike Robinson, GM vice president, energy, environment and safety policy

Baltimore, Maryland-based Constellation Energy will build, own and maintain the solar power system, and GM will purchase all of the electricity generated by the solar panels under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

GM uses renewable energy from solar, hydro, and landfill gas resources at various plants. In the US alone, 1.4 per cent of its energy consumption comes from renewable resources.

Last week, GM, which filed for bankruptcy protection nearly two years ago, announced plans to invest around $2 billion at its assembly and component plants in the US, creating or preserving more than 4,000 jobs at 17 facilities in eight states. (See: GM to invest $2 billion in US plants, add 4,000 jobs)