Six months after the installation of two power-producing wind turbines at Honda Transmission Mfg. of America, Inc., (IW 1000/29) the turbines are producing more renewable, low emissions electrical power than was anticipated when the towers went into operation in January.
"The turbines' operation has exceeded the projections (by 6.35%) established during the project development," said Gary Hand, vice president of Honda Transmission Mfg. of America.
The two turbines, standing 260 feet tall with 160-foot blades, were initially projected to produce upwards of 10,000 megawatt hours (MWH) of electricity per year, accounting for approximately 10% of the plant's annual power needs. The turbines have outperformed company projections in four of the six months since operation began.
At their highest output, the turbines provided 16.26% of the plant's power requirements for the month of April.
The installation of the turbines makes the Russells Point, Ohio plant the first major automotive facility in the United States to receive a substantial amount of its power from on-site wind turbines, according to Juhl Energy. The project was developed and installed by Juhl Energy from Pipestone, Minn. The two turbines are owned by ConEdison Solutions.
Environmental Goals
The company has set forth goals to reduce the environmental impact of its products and manufacturing operations by 2020. This includes a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions from Honda products, and significant CO2 reductions from the company's plants and other operations, compared with year 2000 levels.
Based on its vision of "Blue Skies for our Children," Honda is working to advance technologies that address society's environmental and energy concerns through a diverse lineup of products and technologies, including more fuel-efficient gasoline engines, natural gas, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
In pursuit of its vision for a zero-carbon future, Honda will introduce an advanced new fuel cell car in 2015.
The company is looking at emissions, energy, water use and waste in all phases of its products life cycles. In the manufacturing realm, this includes a 95% reduction in waste sent to landfills in North America.
Honda is also working to extend its "green factory" and "green purchasing" initiatives to its more than 650 parts suppliers in North America and is also pursuing more environmentally responsible business practices among its U.S. dealers.
Part of the company’s vision for zero-carbon mobility is the creation of the Honda Smart Home US, in Davis, Calif., which was opened in early 2014 and is designed to operate with half the energy use and CO2 emissions of a typical home in that region.
