With all of the financial problems General Motors has experienced in recent years, it’s almost surprising that the company hasn’t exhausted all of its money-saving options by now. But according to a recent company announcement, GM is planning on allocating $7.5 million toward energy efficiency in its Flint Assembly plant.
Officials state that the facility currently has seven natural gas burning boilers, but that only two of these boilers are used regularly, due to a change in energy requirements in other facilities. GM spokesman Tom Wickham explained the situation very bluntly by stating that “it’s very inefficient to maintain the boiler systems.”
That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who knows how much the heating and cooling industry has changed in recent years. Even the average American homeowner knows that modern HVAC systems and system features, like thermostats, can pay for themselves in just a few short years.
For the GM Flint Assembly plant, the company expects to save about $900,000 in energy costs every year, after the facility receives an updated air system in the coming year.
According to Wickham, GM plans to build a 7,500-square-foot facility to house a modern compressed air system; construction work is expected to begin in the spring of 2015, and GM hopes that the facility will be completed by August 2015. Even though the air system will still have to use a minimal amount of natural gas, it will be much more energy- and cost-efficient than the current system.
This particular announcement appears to be just one of many forward-thinking developments for GM (which is something that might sound a bit ironic to many Americans at this point). Company officials have also announced plans to funnel about $200 million into two different plants so that a special vehicle can be developed; GM hasn’t given any details about the vehicle, but many people are speculating that it will be a battery-powered electric car.
Regardless of the reason for making these investments, many people are looking favorably upon GM’s investment plans because it’s predicted that dozens of jobs will be created in the process. GM’s recent history has certainly been rocky, but perhaps the company is getting ready to make a comeback.
