by Drew Johnson as republished from Left Lane News
Chevrolet to break ground on new solar array at its
Bowling Green, Kentucky, assembly plant soon

Dateline 12.5.15: Chevrolet has announced that it will break ground on a new solar array at its Bowling Green, Kentucky, assembly plant later this month. The Bowling Green facility is responsible for building the Chevrolet Corvette sports car. According to Chevy, the 850-kilowatt array will be the largest solar installation in the state of Kentucky operated by an auto manufacturer.

The solar panels will generate 1.2 million kilowatt hours of energy annually, which is enough to build 850 Corvettes, or roughly 2.5 percent of the nameplate’s yearly production.

“Corvette customers are passionate about their vehicles because of their design, technology and precision performance,” said Rob Threlkeld, GM global manager of renewable energy. “Offering them a product that is partially built using green energy will be another proof point that they’re driving a true supercar.”

GM currently uses more solar power than any other automaker and ranks No. 20 in solar use out of all companies in the United States. Across 16 U.S. facilities GM harnesses 15 million kilowatt hours of solar energy, which cuts emissions by the equivalent of 11 million pounds of coal burned.