Boeing recently announced that their new 787 jet assembly plant in South Carolina will be completely powered by renewable energy. The new facility will have a roof covered with solar panels that will provide most of the energy they need for operations, and they will supplement this energy source with renewable energy certificates bought from SCE&G. The solar array will be made up of 18,000 solar panels, will produce 2.6 megawatts of power, and will cover a whopping 10 acres of rooftop.
The solar panels on the roof of the new factory will produce enough energy to power 250 homes, and according to Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, it is Boeing’s first 100% renewably powered factory in the world. It appears to be a step in the right direction for a manufacturer whose products are some of the most polluting transportation vessels on earth.
“What this shows us is that Boeing is going to do everything just a little bit better,” said fellow U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint. That sentiment was seconded by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. “The fact that Boeing would lead the way is going to make it easier for other businesses in South Carolina and in the country to follow,” he said. The plant will be officially open for business in July and the first jet built with renewable power will take off about a year from the plant’s opening.
Via The Tandd
3 Responses to “Boeing Announces New Factory Will be 100% Powered by Renewable Energy”
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Do these certificates guarantee that the additional electricity ONLY came from a renewable resource?
@caeman – the certificates will likely be purchased through SCE&G’s nonprofit affiliate PaCE. The certificate program guarantees that the equivalent amount of electricity will enter the grid from renewable sources (the renewable source-derived electricity does not flow directly to the purchaser). See http://www.palmettocleanenergy.org/about/how-pace-works.asp
This is great news..now all we need is for Boeing to start producing planes that don’t cancel out all the combined emissions savings of the entire country. Irony.