Porsche decides to go Green
01-18-2010, 11:16 PM
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Porsche decides to go Green
Porsche decides to go Green ... with US Facilities 
Energy savings measures could soon be undertaken at this new facility from Porsche Cars North America in Easton, Pa. The site selection process for the project is profiled in the January 2010 issue of Site Selection.
In a presentation at a Transatlantic Logistics conference hosted by the German-American Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta, Rob Nemchik, general manager Porsche Logistics Services, LLC, described how Porsche Cars North America's U.S. facilities, with a mix of short-term and long-term return on investment, are reflecting the environmental sensibility that the parent company and its home country of Germany have held for some time:
"We've retrofitted all warehouse lighting to T5 fluorescent lights," he said, adding in a later phone interview that the unit is now experiencing a 38 percent reduction in its power bill because of the switch. "In California, the ROI was in seven months. In Atlanta, because rates are lower, the payback is a bit longer." As for the long term, in March 2009, Porsche Logistics Services commissioned a 372-panel solar array at its Ontario, Calif., facility, providing 85 kilowatts per hour of power. "It doesn't satisfy our requirement for daily power, but it makes a considerable dent in it," said Nemchik, "and it's expandable. One thing we realize, in logistics and in manufacturing, is that energy prices are continuing to rise. If you become a partial provider for your own energy needs, you can mitigate some of those market effects that are directly affecting your bottom line."
The solar installation is providing an additional 33-percent power savings. Meanwhile, the logistics unit is studying similar initiatives at its new project in Allentown, Pa.
In a presentation at a Transatlantic Logistics conference hosted by the German-American Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta, Rob Nemchik, general manager Porsche Logistics Services, LLC, described how Porsche Cars North America's U.S. facilities, with a mix of short-term and long-term return on investment, are reflecting the environmental sensibility that the parent company and its home country of Germany have held for some time:
"We've retrofitted all warehouse lighting to T5 fluorescent lights," he said, adding in a later phone interview that the unit is now experiencing a 38 percent reduction in its power bill because of the switch. "In California, the ROI was in seven months. In Atlanta, because rates are lower, the payback is a bit longer." As for the long term, in March 2009, Porsche Logistics Services commissioned a 372-panel solar array at its Ontario, Calif., facility, providing 85 kilowatts per hour of power. "It doesn't satisfy our requirement for daily power, but it makes a considerable dent in it," said Nemchik, "and it's expandable. One thing we realize, in logistics and in manufacturing, is that energy prices are continuing to rise. If you become a partial provider for your own energy needs, you can mitigate some of those market effects that are directly affecting your bottom line."
The solar installation is providing an additional 33-percent power savings. Meanwhile, the logistics unit is studying similar initiatives at its new project in Allentown, Pa.
