Volvo realizes carbon neutral in its New River Valley plant

The electric power used by Volvo’s New River Valley (NRV) assembly plant in Dublin, Virginia, is now carbon neutral. As of November, 100 percent of the plant’s electricity is generated by methane gas produced at 13 landfills in the region.
 
The fossil fuels previously used to generate the NRV plant’s electricity in 2013 produced 40,408 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Volvo’s electricity provider now uses landfill gas to produce power for the plant that otherwise would have required fossil fuels to produce.

Carbon neutral electricity is just the latest milestone in the NRV plant’s commitment to sustainability. Plant management and employees have worked together to identify and implement various initiatives to reduce the plant’s CO2 footprint through energy efficiency. Some notable results of those efforts include capturing solar heat absorbed on an exterior wall of the plant to provide heating and removing the lighting from vending machines throughout the plant. These initiatives resulted in a reduction of energy intensity by 30 percent.

The NRV plants energy conservation efforts have been recognized with certification under both ISO 50001 standards and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Superior Energy Platinum (SEP) program – the top international and U.S. certifications for driving continuous improvements in energy efficiency.(Source: Volvo Group)