INTERVIEW: Ford Motors’ Global Director of Environmental Quality on renewable sourcing

Related Documents: 

Ford Motors Sustainability Report 2020

Ford Motors recently set out two ambitious clean energy aims: to power its manufacturing plants with 100% renewable energy by 2035 and, by 2050, to achieve carbon neutrality.

Alongside those goals, the Detroit-based automaker billed itself as the only full line U.S. automaker committed to doing its part to reduce CO2 emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, according to its Sustainability Report 2020.

Energy was just one of a suite of sustainability goals laid out in the report. Ford plans to eliminate all single-use plastics from its operations by the end of the decade, to eliminate water withdrawals from its manufacturing processes, and more. The company also “aspires” to use only recycled materials in its manufacturing worldwide. 

The company pointed to its progress in sourcing renewable energy at its factories. The Dearborn Truck Plant, the Michigan Assembly Plant and multiple buildings on Ford’s Research and Engineering campus and its Corktown campus will all be powered 100% by renewable energy sources by the beginning of 2021.

And Ford plans to hit 32% renewable energy company wide by 2023. 

With both short- and long-term renewable goals in writing, there should be opportunities in the future for developers to partner with Ford on clean energy projects. 

In an interview with New Project Media, Ford’s Global Director of the Environmental Quality Office, Andy Hobbs, spoke about the company’s sourcing of renewable energy.

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity:

NPM: How many Ford plants are powered by renewable energy at the moment? Which plants, and what percentage of the total do they represent?

Hobbs: Ford has 7 plants being supplied with 100% renewable electricity.  Two other plants have on-site renewable generation for a portion, and the other 55 plants receive a portion of renewable electricity via the generation mix of the Utilities.

NPM: How much energy on average do each of those facilities require?

Hobbs: (A) typical plant requires 80,000,000 kwh per year of electricity.

NPM: Did Ford Motors utilize RFP processes to power those plants?

Hobbs: Ford does use (an) RFP process in regions where there is open access (deregulated markets).

NPM: What are the priorities to reach the 2035 plan of powering all plants with renewable energy? Is the company beginning with certain facilities for any particular reason?

Hobbs: Ford’s carbon reduction goal continues to [emphasize] reducing consumption – requiring less energy to purchase.  Renewable opportunities are prioritized by regional market conditions to achieve the best possible business case for renewables.

NPM: Will there be no RFPs, one large RFP or a series of RFPs based on geography?

Hobbs: RFPs are bundled by region or local grid operator.  Some regions will have multiple plants, others might only have one plant.

NPM: Will there be consideration given to on-site generation?

Hobbs: Yes, Ford has several on-site renewable projects and will evaluate future projects as real estate, business case and safety issues allow.

NPM: If a particular facility’s energy needs are higher, would Ford then look at local utility-scale projects?

Hobbs: Yes, Ford has contracted for large utility scale projects in the U.K. (2020) and in SE Michigan (2021).

NPM: What sort of load curves are we talking about for these facilities? Would storage be an option as well (on-site or off-site)?

Hobbs: Typical plant loads exceed 15,000 kw which exceed any on-site renewable potential – storage becomes ineffective as no excess renewable power is available to store.

NPM: What has been Ford’s approach to procuring energy generation in the past? How does the company go about working with third party developers? Directly or through an intermediary like a local utility? Is Ford prevented by any agreements from sourcing their own renewable power now?

Hobbs: In regulated territories, Ford evaluates renewable partnership opportunities with the local utility.  Several of these have been implemented to date.

NPM: Is Ford looking at anyone else in the industry or other corporate buyers as a model on how to achieve their goals?

Hobbs: Ford does participate in multiple energy consortiums of industrial corporations.  Generic strategies are shared within guidelines of anti-trust and competition laws.

NPM: What qualities does Ford look for in a potential developer or project proposal?

Hobbs: Ford prefers renewable projects to be locally sourced – within the local distribution system or within the local region. 

NPM: Being a large company, Ford likely fields project pitches on a regular basis. What makes a developer or proposal jump off the page?

Hobbs: Any proposal must be backed by a reputable developer and the project must meet our locally/regional source strategy while meeting business case requirements.

NPM: Which team at Ford should a third party renewables developer contact if they are looking for more information?

Hobbs: The Ford Land Energy office handles all global utility supply.

NPM: Are there any good sources of information on renewables that Ford’s sustainability team uses or is a member of?

Hobbs: The Energy Office has worked with the EPA and Dept of Energy reviewing renewable energy technologies and markets.