General Motors, more commonly known as GM to the public, is an American multinational automotive corporation with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. In 2010, it was listed as the second largest automaker in the world, and for the first half of 2011, GM was actually listed as the first largest. GM is known for its numerous divisions and brands, including Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC. However, it is not just with automobile manufacturing that puts GM in the lead above all other automakers, but also its use of renewable energy. In 2008, GM made the commitment to ensure that half of its manufacturing plants are landfill-free. Aside from building hybrid and all electric vehicles for public consumption, GM has spearheaded a number of sustainability initiatives to make its actions much greener, paving the way for a much greener environment.

1 ) Greener Vehicles. GM is now building a number of fuel-efficient vehicles that fit the needs and lifestyle of their customers while, at the same time, being much better for the environment. Currently, 12 vehicles made by GM get a minimum of 30 miles per gallon on the highway, and GM is also the leading FlexFuel vehicle producer in the world. The engineers at GM are working tirelessly to develop advanced technologies for automobiles that will allow for improved fuel economy, a reduced dependence on the need for petroleum, and less carbon dioxide emissions.

2 ) Energy Efficiency. At GM, there is the need to reduce emissions as well as dependence on petroleum by becoming more energy efficient. Between the years 2005 and 2010, GM has been able to reduce use of energy by more than 30 percent. GM has also been able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent. Currently, seven facilities house 30 megawatts of solar energy, with plans to double that amount by 2015. GM is also the second largest industrial users of landfill gas throughout the United States. In facilities, for example, GM utilizes energy efficient lighting, energy efficient HVAC systems, shutting down equipment, and technologies to track hourly energy consumption. The Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan has received LEED Gold Certification from the United States Green Building Council for all its ways of reducing energy.

3 ) Waste Reduction. Out of all the global automakers, GM reuses and recycles the most waste coming from manufacturing facilities. In 2010, GM recycled or reused approximately 92 percent of all worldwide waste, which translates into around 2.5 million tons. Half of all global manufacturing facilities are just about waste free. Employees are always looking of ways to reduce scrap as well as design products. This allowed them to cut total waste from all global operations by 43 percent from 2000 to 2010.

4 ) Resource Preservation. At GM, the goal is to help in the preservation of natural resources as well as enhance the natural habitats that surround all facilities. For instance, between the years 2005 and 2010, Toyota was able to reduce water consumption at all global facilities by 35 percent. GM also has more certifications from the Wildlife Habitat Council than any other manufacturer from North America. GM also has 15 different habitat programs going on around the world to aid in ensuring that species of plants and animals around the areas of manufacturing facilities are properly cared for and not put into danger.

5 ) Goal of Zero Landfill Waste. GM has the goal to kick landfill to the curb, and by that, GM means not sending any of the waste to landfills. GM remains committed to reducing the total amount of waste created in all facilities. As previously mention, half of all manufacturing plants are landfill-free. At these facilities, 97 percent of all waste that has been generated by daily manufacturing operations is reused or recycled, while the remaining three percent is converted straight to energy. While it is impossible to not generate certain kinds of waste, including paint sludge or scrap metal, GM is finding new and innovative ways to repurpose it so it will not end up at a landfill.

6 ) 30 HM Plants meet the Environmental Protection Agency Energy – Reduction Challenge. In December of 2011, GM had listed that they were able to cut the energy intensity at 30 North American manufacturing plants by 25 percent, equivalent of the carbon dioxide emissions created by 97,000 homes in the United States. Therefore, they were able to meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Challenge for Industry. These facilities were able to avoid the production of more than 775,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide passes and saved over $50 million in energy costs.

7 ) Lansing Plant Receives Energy Star Certification from the Environmental Protection Agency. In December of 2011, the Lansing, Michigan GM plant was the very first in the United States to get an Energy Star certification for its superior level of energy efficiency. This facility builds the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and the Buick Enclave. The vice president for Sustainability and Global Regulatory Affairs, Mike Robinson, said, “Certifications like this demonstrate our commitment to improving energy efficiency practices beyond our vehicles.”

8 ) GM’s First United States Landfill-Free Assembly Plant Located in Fort Wayne. The Fort Wayne GM Assembly Plant, which is responsible for building GMC Sierras and Chevrolet Silverados is the very first assembly plant to recycle, reuse, or convert to energy all the waste that was created by daily operations. Jon Bradburm, the GM Manager for waste-reduction efforts said, “Assembly plants are challenged with a large amount of waste streams and byproducts, from varying types of plastics and metals to expendable packaging and containers. Fort Wayne has succeeded in finding sustainable options for these materials while working with other GM lpants and suppliers to improve its impact from an overall systems perspective.”

9 ) EcoCAR Challenge. The EcoCAR Challenge was created in a partnership between GM and the United States Department of Energy. This competition challenges 16 different universities in North America and asks them to find a way to reduce the overall environmental impact of vehicles by decreasing its fuel consumption and emissions while still retaining the performance of the vehicle, as well as consumer appeal and safety. Students design and integrate their technologies into a vehicle donated by GM.

10 ) GM Installs the Biggest Rooftop Solar Panels in the World. In 2008 the largest rooftop solar power station began construction in Spain. It is made up of 85,000 lightweight panels that cover approximately two million square feet. It belongs to the GM car factory in Zaragoza, Spain. GM unveiled the €50 million project with hopes install solar panels at an additional 11 plants throughout the European Continent.

Article by Shawn Lesser, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Atlanta-based Watershed Capital Group – an investment bank assisting sustainable fund and companies raise capital, perform acquisitions, and in other strategic financial decisions. He is also a Co-founder of the GCCA Global Cleantech Cluster Association ”The Global Voice of Cleantech”. He writes for various cleantech publications and is known as the David Letterman of Cleantech for his “Top 10″ series. He can be reached at shawn@watershedcapital.com.

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Although still being outpaced by the all-electric Nissan LEAF in terms of North American sales, the new Chevy Volt from General Motors is bringing fresh faces into dealerships around the country — or at least at dealerships in the seven states where the Volt is currently being sold.

According to buyer surveys conducted by GM, more than half of the early-adopting Volt owners had not been in a Chevrolet dealership in ten years. And even more striking is that nearly one-third of Volt buyers have never even been to a Chevrolet dealership.

“We’ve been here a long time and the Volt is bringing in people we have never seen before,” said Alan Starling, a dealer in Starling Chevrolet in St. Cloud, Florida.

While the number of Volts available to drive has been fairly limited thus far, GM says it has ramped up production and the number of Chevrolet dealers with Volts available for test drives and for sale will increase from 550 to more than 2,600 in the next four months.

The big question for Chevrolet is whether they will be able to turn some of these early adopters into Chevy people for the long term; and whether they will be able to build enough of them and/or sell enough of them to make an appreciable difference to the brand’s position.

Article by Timothy Hurst, appearing courtesy Earth & Industry.

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The intersection of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and the smart grid has prompted many partnerships, but none may create more impact than General Motors and General Electric getting together. Each company is evolving the communications platform in its relative domains to enable interaction with the other, which could provide a vital link between vehicles and grid equipment.

General Motors’ OnStar announced at the Plug-In 2011 conference, that the company’s wireless vehicle communications platform is being connected to General Electrics’ Grid IQ Demand Optimization System. Data from thousands of Chevrolet Volt PHEVs will be made accessible to GE’s software, which is used by utilities for managing the load on the power grid. By enabling the platforms to share information in both directions, utilities can incorporate Volts into their existing systems for shedding load while studying customers’ driving and charging habits.

GE is purchasing 25,000 PEVs, including 12,000 that will be leased by its fleet customers, including utility companies (GE Finance has a large fleet business). The smart grid pilot program, which will start with one unannounced utility, will provide access to charging history – including location, time, and amount of energy consumed by the vehicle – and will be made available to understand how PEVs will impact the grid.

OnStar is developing a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable third parties to receive data from the vehicles – even when they are not plugged into a charging unit. This wireless communication enables automakers to go around charging equipment vendors (who want a share of the pie and access to the data) and talk directly to the grid. Also, utilities may be able to better predict upcoming demand through the GPS data (which is provided on an opt-in basis by vehicle operators).

Since it is already in use by utilities, GE’s platform could become a de facto standard for managing PEVs on the grid. According to GE, the software contains algorithms that learn from demand usage patterns and incorporate PEVs into their system of providing dynamic pricing based on the load on the grid. Systems could be developed so that charging only takes place when the price falls below customer-selected thresholds. Nick Pudar, Vice President of OnStar Planning and Business Development, told me that in the future, that data from other applications, such as trips planned and stored on a PEV owners’ Google calendar, could automatically be factored into PEV charging schedules.

The collaboration will have an impact beyond GM vehicles. An aftermarket version of OnStar, to be sold by Best Buy, was recently announced, enabling owners of competing models to use the communications system. While other PEV makers are developing their own wireless communications platforms, new models could incorporate OnStar as their platform and gain access to GE’s utility platform as well.

GE also announced that its EV charger, the WattStation, will be the first of its kind to be sold by home improvement company Lowe’s.

Article by John Gartner, appearing courtesy the Matter Network.

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Where are the most Buicks in the world sold? Not in the US but China. This year, sales of American-based General Motors (GM) cars in China outpaced that same consumption in the US. This development has ramifications for the auto industry and international climate policy.

USA Today reports that in 2010, Chinese consumers bought 2.35 million cars from GM. Demand in the US was about 136,000 less over that same time period. The total cars sold for 2010 represent a 29% increase over the year before. In comparison, US sales rose just 6%. One of the most popular car brands in China is Buick, which had anemic sales in the US.

Other carmakers also saw gains in the Chinese market. For example, Porsche saw an increase in sales of 63% in 2010. However, their totals are far lower than GM, with about 15,000 units sold.

One major automaker didn’t experience similar success in China, though. Toyota, the largest auto manufacturer in the world only sold about a third of GM’s total in China despite being the most popular car brand in the world.

The fact that GM outpaced Toyota by three-to-one is indicative of the allure an American lifestyle in an increasingly affluent China. Banking on this allure, GM plans to export US$900 million worth of cars and parts to China over the next two years.

GM also made big gains in other large developing markets. In Russia, sales increased 12.4% while in Brazil they jumped 10.4% in 2010. Overall, though, China remains the largest market for cars in the world.

This status brings up some issues about global trade, climate change, and local air quality, though. In the US, improved tailpipe emissions standards will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a main factor in causing climate change. Regulations are much more lax in China, however, as well as other foreign markets.

In addition, new cars on the road generally replace motorcycles and scooters, which get much higher mileage per gallon. The carbon intensity of driving a car is anywhere from two to seven times greater per mile than these other vehicles.

Locally, an increase in the number of cars on the road also negatively affects air quality. In the run up to the Beijing Olympics, there were worries about air quality possibly putting a damper on the event. Since then, Beijing has taken to auctioning off a set number of new license plates each year to reduce both congestion and local air quality problems.

It’s clear more needs to be done on the international level to reduce automobile emissions. There are a number of approaches from switching to more hybrid and alternative technologies to better urban planning to prevent sprawl to improving public transit. While China is ramping up it’s renewable energy production, it should also consider automobile efficiency if it really wants to lay claim to the world’s clean energy leader.

Article by Brian Kahn, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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The plastic booms used to absorb oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year will be recycled for use as parts in the plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt. General Motors officials say the recycled oil extracted from the booms will be converted into 100,000 pounds of plastic resin pellets that will ultimately be mixed with recycled tires to create the parts that protect the Volt’s radiator.

The material would otherwise be buried in landfills or burned. “If sent to a landfill, these materials would have taken hundreds of years to begin to break down, and we didn’t want to see the spill further impact the environment,” said John Bradburn, manager of GM’s waste-reduction and recycling efforts. More than 2,550 miles of boom were deployed in the Gulf in the months following the BP oil spill.

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Ah, Hawaii. Often have I written about the renewable energy innovations they have underway across the island chain and the new projects they have in the works. This time, however, I get to write about what Hawaii plans to do to bring green transportation to their shores. A power utility company on the island of Oahu and General Motors are partnering up to create a new hydrogen fueling system that they believe could make Oahu one of the most friendly places on earth for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Hawaii’s aptly named gas company, The Gas Company, currently runs a 1,000 mile hydrogen gas pipeline across the island of Oahu that would serve as the starting point for the development of a green transportation fuel system. With this pipeline ideally placed, General Motors intends to work with the company to develop a fueling infrastructure that spans the entire island. According to Gas Co., the amount of hydrogen currently being pumped into the island of Oahu would be able to fuel a fleet of 15,000 hydrogen fuel cell cars. The initial plan is to use this pipeline to spread a fueling system throughout the city of Honolulu and along the major highway that spans the island’s coast by 2015.

In order to make this hydrogen powered green transportation possible, General Motors intends to use Hawaii as the starting point for a campaign to spread the sale of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. General Motors, in preparation for the completion of the hydrogen fuel line, plans to ship fifty of their Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to make use of the system. The latest Equinox hydrogen design is a modified version of the initial fuel cell vehicle General Motors announced back in 2008. While it still features similar system specifications, the hydrogen fuel cell system itself is considerably lighter. Overall, the vehicle features much of the same technology a normal SUV would have while having similar performance.

Although General Motors is convinced Hawaii is the perfect place to spark their hydrogen fuel cell revolution, there are still some who believe that hydrogen fuel cells are still a bit too expensive compared to other green transportation designs. Still, most major car manufacturers are working with a variety of hydrogen fuel cell cars to make sure they are left out in the cold. Audi in Europe is one major example outside of the United States, although Honda in Japan continues to be hydrogen fuel cell champion.

Whether the investment in hydrogen based green transportation will ultimately be worth the cash remains to be seen. However, the system really has no reason to fail beyond that. Assuming costs remain reasonable, there is no reason why the island of Oahu cannot at some point in the future become the shining example of green transportation with an entire fleet of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles traversing the roadways. It may be far off in our futures, but it can certainly happen.

Article by Richard Cooke, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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I like to ride my bike and take public transportation when I can. But I still rely on the car to move me around a few days every week. That said, developments in cars and personal transportation are things I take both personal and professional interest in.

So after Ford loaned a new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid to me and Gas 2.0 editor Nick Chambers for an extended test drive – that we would take on a trip to and from a multi-day music festival in Southern California we were both covering — I decided to share my thoughts about why Ford’s first foray into the hybrid sedan market is making a big splash:  Partly because of good business timing;  but also because they built a great car.

The backstory

It’s no big secret that the American auto industry has been in a bit of a funk in recent years. While gas prices were still on the rise, the industry continued to make bigger and bigger vehicles claiming the market was demanding it. The market may have been demanding it, but demand was only as stable as the price of gasoline, and as we saw in 2007 and 2008, the price of gas is not always stable.

Unlike General Motors, which had to turn to the United States Government for money to keep it afloat, Ford kept its head above water. While GM was building cars and trucks with “Flex Fuel” engines, making slow progress on the Chevy Volt and closing dealerships across the U.S., Ford was tightening its focus and forging a new strategy for the company:  One that still made Flex Fuel vehicles to run on cheap American ethanol, but also one that looked to smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids.

In short, Americans suddenly began demanding more efficient vehicles and Ford was in a better position to deliver.

Evidence of the transition from SUVs to smaller, more efficient vehicles can be found by looking at the makes of the cars traded-in during the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program. Six of the top ten cars traded in were big Ford SUVs, trucks and minivans (Explorer, F-150, Windstar). While many of those taking advantage of the program went on to buy Toyotas and Hondas, the Ford Focus was the third most popular vehicle purchased after the trade-in and the mid-size SUV, Ford Escape, was eigth. Absent from the list was a competitor to the Toyota Prius, but Ford hopes to change off that with the Fusion Hybrid.

Thanks to robust growth figures, the Fusion is now leading the charge of Ford’s boost in sales in the Fall of 2009. The company last week reported $1 billion in net profits for the 3rd quarter of 2009, an increase of almost $4 billion dollars over last year’s numbers. While these numbers are certainly good for the company–and Ford has thus far been successful at branding the new Fusion Hybrid as “green”–I wanted to see if that growth could be at all explained by an authentic step in an environmentally-friendly direction for the company.

The review

At first blush, the Fusion is a good looking and comfortable vehicle with a cool user interface and a comfortable ride. The Fusion isn’t cheap. Starting at $27,625, it costs about five thousand bucks more than a brand 3rd Generation Toyota Prius. And at 41 miles per gallon (hwy), it won’t get the mileage that the 51-mpg Prius will. But in terms of comfort, features, and its larger size, the Fusion is really more like a Toyota Camry than a Prius.

The first thing that I noticed when I got behind the wheel was that the Fusion’s user interface has a lot going on. They call it the Dual LCD SmartGauge Cluster with Eco Guide that provides real-time information to help you squeeze the most efficiency from your Fusion Hybrid. While it could be a little overwhelming for the easily distracted, after making myself familiar with the cluster, I found the gauges to be plenty informative without having to look directly at them.

The SmartGauge with EcoGuide uses LCD screens on either side of the center-mounted speedometer. (A tutorial built into the display lets you choose one of four data screens for the level of information you want – Inform, Enlighten, Engage or Empower – and explains your options within each. Nick had already done this by the time he picked me up at the airport and gave me quick run-through.)

On the data screen setting we opted for, the LCD screen on the left had guages indicating fuel level, battery level and miles per hour (with the EcoGuide indicator telling you when you are driving in EV-mode). You keep it in the green zone on the EcoGuide and the 2.5L Atkinson-Cycle I-4 Hybrid engine shuts off and runs completely off of the high-power NiMH battery. Keep it in the green and you are essentially driving an electric car.

Driving the Fusion, I couldn’t really notice when the car shifted between gas-powered and electric-powered, the transition was seamless. The smooth transition can be explained by the fact that there is no progression of gear changes light you are accustomed to.

The right-hand screen had a display for small green leaves, when you drive more efficiently, the display will grow more leaves, when you don’t they will fade away. I found the immediate feedback to be a useful motivational tool without being a big distraction.

When all was said and done, we were able to average almost 39 mpg for the entire 328 mile trip. But considering that we made good use of the vehicle to charge our peripherals and gadgets; and hit some heavy construction and stop-and-start festival traffic, I think the Fusion’s mileage claims lived up to their billing.

One particularly helpful feature we discovered about the car was that it would–while in “Park” and with the key in the ignition–turn on the engine by itself to charge its depleting battery. Since we were making such heavy use of the car’s battery to charge our electrical accessories via the Fusion’s USB and AC charge-ports while we were at the festival (cameras, PDAs, computers, batteries, etc.), we found this to be a real bonus to those who might like to use their cars in a situation like the one we were in, tailgating, car-camping, or just listening to the stereo real loud at home in your driveway.

The cruise control feature on the Fusion is a little bit different than what you’re used to, so much so that Ford decided to name it, ‘Speed Control’. The difference between the two is that cruise control on most cars will do whatever they have to do to keep speed. That means when you are driving uphill, the computer will feed more gasoline to the engine to maintain that speed. The Speed Control feature of the Fusion will ease up a little, understanding that the hill likely won’t last forever and that a few miles per hour under the chosen speed is much more efficient than gunning the engine.

While the much anticipated Ford Fusion is a tech-lover’s dream and an overall excellent car, there are a few technical glitches we discovered over our extended test-drive. The Microsoft navigation interface was a little clunky at times, requiring one too many buttons and screens to navigate through just to perform fairly simple operations. The rear-view camera was a neat addition but the on-board obstacle sensor seemed way too eager to tell us when something was anywhere near us (like in a parking lot).

While the Fusion maybe a little late to the hybrid vehicle game, Ford is betting big that their new flagship sedan will make a big splash into the U.S. car market, and in so doing, helping the company position itslef as the lean, green, and profitable leader of the big U.S. auto companies.

Author Tim Hurst is the executive editor of Live Oak Media.

Article appearing courtesy of Celsias

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