Automotive manufacturer Ford is to increase its environmental commitments with the addition of the third wind turbine to its Dagenham diesel engine manufacturing facility.
The new turbine will provide the extra energy required to power the new engine line that is to be installed at the site.
As of 2004, the facility’s two turbines have prevented over 6,500 tonnes of CO₂ per year from being emitted into the atmosphere. A third turbine will allow the site to remain 100 per cent wind powered following the expansion, providing 1.8 megawatts of electricity – the equivalent of powering 1,000 homes.
Dale Vince OBE, managing director of Ecotricity – the company that is to provide the new turbine – said that Ford’s use of wind power was “a powerful endorsement of wind energy’s credibility,” adding: “It’s quite special to see demand for cleaner engines grow and we’re delighted to work with Ford to increase their capacity to build more ‘wind-powered diesel engines’.”
The third turbine is currently awaiting planning permission.
