General Motors Secures 100% Energy Needed to Achieve RE Goal

Solar Power Fence. Pic Courtesy: Next2Sun GMBH

Auto giant General Motors has announced the finalization of energy sourcing agreements required to secure 100% of the energy needed to power all its US facilities by 2025. This is in line with the accelerated target which is five years ahead of the 2030 target announced in early 2021.

Through this, GM expects to avoid the production of an estimated 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions that would have been produced between 2025 and 2030, equal to the emissions produced by burning 1 billion pounds of coal.

Kristen Siemen, the GM Chief Sustainability Officer, said, “Securing the renewable energy we need to achieve our goal demonstrates tangible progress in reducing our emissions in all aspects of our business, ultimately moving us closer to our vision of a future with zero emissions.”

GM maintains that its renewable energy strategy rooted in four pillars such as increasing energy efficiency, sourcing renewables through direct investment, on-site generation, green tariffs and power purchase agreements. It also addresses Intermittency by creating technology to store renewable energy over the medium and long term, so its power consumption is not disrupted by external fluctuations. Policy advocacy is another important route to its energy strategy.

The official statement of GM held that its renewable energy portfolio now includes sourcing agreements from 16 renewable energy plants across 10 states. Since 2017, the portfolio has also produced over $75 million of positive cash flows.

GM is a founding member of the Clean Energy Buyers Association that brings companies together to unlock market access, helping organizations of all sizes find cost-effective pathways to buying renewable energy.

In 2021, GM announced its Science Based Targets for emissions reduction, as well as plans to become carbon neutral in its global products and operations by 2040. The company plans to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new US light-duty vehicles by 2035. It has committed to invest $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles through 2025, with plans to reach more than 1 million units of annual EV capacity in each of North America and China by the end of 2025.