Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Manufacturing/Plants , Solar , Ford When Ford's re-tooled Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne starts building the Focus Electric next year, a chunk of the electrical energy used in the plant will be provided by one of the largest solar arrays in Michigan. Detroit Edison, Xtreme Power and the state of Michigan are partnering with Ford to install a 500-kilowatt solar array along with a 750-kilowatt battery system with 2 megawatt-hours of capacity. The solar power system will be used to power production of the Focus and Focus Electric and feed excess energy back into the electrical grid. The solar power system will save Ford about $160,000 per year in energy costs with the nearly $6 million cost being funded by DTE Energy, the Michigan Public Service Commission and Ford. Some of the solar energy is being used to power ten vehicle charging stations in the plant for trucks that move parts around. Ford will also be experimenting with using batteries for stationary storage applications, which to some is the real news here . This sort of reuse is expected to become more important in the future as more and more vehicle batteries need replacement.
