GE Aviation's solar power farm to power facility

GE Aviation's Durham-based North Carolina facility recently inaugurated its new $3 million, seven acre solar power field which will provide enough renewable energy to power 1/3 of the facility's electrical power during daylight hours.

The new solar power field, located next to the Durham facility, will utilize products from GE Energy's portfolio of solar solutions.

The field is the first complete Utility Scale Solar Power Plant installed by the company and includes a Brilliance Inverter, monitoring and controls, and racking and cabling in addition to more than 9,000 thin film panels that provide renewable energy.

The field will produce 700KW of power for the Durham facility or enough energy to power 200 homes. The solar power field will also help GE Aviation Durham reduce its CO2 emissions by more than 400 million tons a year, which is the equivalent of removing 77 cars from the road each year.

"The solar power field is one of more than 200 energy reduction projects that GE Aviation Durham has implemented in the last few years," says Mike Wagner, plant manager of GE Aviation Durham. "These projects have enabled the site to reduce its electricity bill by 30% while increasing its production level by 50%."

The solar power field is part of GE's ecomagination initiative, which includes a commitment by GE to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25%, water usage by 25% and energy intensity reduction by 50 per cent.