Multiple Turbine Site Image.jpg
An image provided by Whirlpool Corp. offers an idea of how wind turbines may appear after they are built near its plant in Findlay, Ohio. It shows four of them behind the company's high-efficiency dishwasher plant. The turbines will be built on 70 acres of open land between Whirlpool's plant and the Ball Corporation Metal Beverage Container Group plant there.
(Courtesy Photo)
BENTON HARBOR, MI -- Whirlpool Corp. hopes to used wind power to offset about 22 percent of the electric consumption costs at its manufacturing facility in Findlay, Ohio.
The world's largest maker of major home appliances announced on Monday that it will use energy generated at the Findlay Wind Farm to help power its dishwasher manufacturing facility there.
The Findlay Wind Farm is an $18 million "Wind for Industry" project being financed by One Energy Enterprises LLC. One Energy attempts to make on-site wind available for business and industry.
The project involves the construction of five wind turbines that will be owned by One Energy. Each is expected to generate enough electricity to power 300-400 average homes.
The turbines will be built on 70 acres of open land between Whirlpool's plant and the Ball Corporation Metal Beverage Container Group plant there.
Ball Corp., which no longer manufactures the canning jars that made the company famous, is a worldwide metal packaging company that makes recyclable metal containers and designs one-of-a-kind products for the aerospace industry.
Whirlpool has an agreement to buy power generated by two of the turbines. Ball Corp. is set to buy the power generated by the other three.
According to information provided by Whirlpool, construction is to start this spring and the turbines are to be operational by late 2015.
"For more than 40 years, Whirlpool Corporation has made a number of significant advancements in sustainability," Dale Laws, vice president of Whirlpool's Findlay Operations, said in a press release. "The Findlay Wind Farm project is an example of how global companies like Whirlpool can make a positive impact at the local level and the global level by minimizing the impact of our operations on the environment."
Whirlpool's consumer products manufacturing site in Findlay is considered the world's largest dishwasher manufacturing plant.
"Through clean, renewable wind energy producing zero greenhouse gas emissions, the turbines are expected to offset an estimated 22 percent of Whirlpool's electric consumption," the company stated in a press release.
Whirlpool shares are traded on the New York Stock exchange under the ticker symbol WHR.
Business writer Al Jones may be contacted at ajones5@mlive.com. Follow me on Twitter at ajones5_al