OREANDA-NEWS. General Motors' new 2.2 megawatt ground-mounted solar array will be complete by the end of 2014 at its Lordstown Complex, home of the Chevrolet Cruze. When the last of more than 8,500 solar panels are in place, it will be GM's largest solar installation in the Western Hemisphere.

The renewable energy produced by the array is enough to power nearly 1.5 percent of the plant and helps avoid the equivalent of 1,993 tons of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere. That is equivalent to the amount of carbon pulled from the air by 1,634 acres of U.S. forests in one year.

"With more solar installations than any other automotive company and the second-highest percentage of solar among all commercial users, GM shows that manufacturing and the use of renewable energy can go hand-in-hand." said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Easily seen from the Ohio Turnpike, the array will stand as a visual cue to the more than 49 million travelers who pass it each year that GM is committed to the use of solar power.

This announcement comes nearly one year after announcing completion of the 1.8 megawatt solar array on the rooftop of GM's Toledo Transmission facility, also in Ohio. That array is the largest rooftop array in the state, producing enough energy to power 149 homes in the United States for a year.

"You don't often think of the Midwest when you think of ideal locations for solar, but reduced costs and increased utility rates have made sites like Lordstown and Toledo optimal locations to expand GM's use of solar power," said Rob Threlkeld, GM global manager of renewable energy.

The Solar Energy Industry Association, which named GM a "Solar Champion" last year at this time, has released its Solar Means Business 2014 Report. GM is listed among the top 25 corporate users of solar power in the United States for the second consecutive year.

"We applaud General Motors for setting the pace when it comes to automotive manufacturing solar installations and deployment," Resch said.

With the Lordstown project, GM remains on track to meet a company goal of 125 megawatts of renewable energy deployed globally by 2015.