DETROIT, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A solar power system at a Michigan assembly plant for Ford vehicles will save the automotive company more than $150,000 per year, the company announced.
Ford Motor Co. announced it has collaborated with the Michigan government and utility company Detroit Edison to build a 500-kilowatt solar system at its assembly plant in the eastern city of Wayne.
The Wayne assembly plant produces the Ford Focus and the Focus Electric vehicles.
The solar system, Ford said, would save the company around $160,000 per year in energy costs.
The installation is part of a plan by Detroit Edison to install 15 megawatts worth of solar power systems on the rooftops of its southeast Michigan customers during the next five years.
The solar system at the Wayne assembly plant will not provide enough energy to power heavy machinery at the plant, however. The facility, the Detroit News reports, enhances the green energy image of the restructuring automotive company.
Energy costs for Ford reach about $9 million each year. Installation of the solar system starts later this year.
