Volvo opens carbon neutral factory

And the Swedish automobile company is the first in the world to do so, to boot. This factory in question is Volvo Trucks’ plant in Ghent, Belgium, and will be a milestone of sorts to help meet the EU’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% before 2020 rolls around. This facility harnesses biomass, wind, solar, and bio-oil for their renewable energy needs that are used to produce approximately 35,000 trucks annually. Volvo aims to turn all their plants into CO2-free plants eventually, and I sure hope other automobile makers will take note of this green effort. Solar cells on the roof of the Ghent plant provide all the energy required for the combustion process, while a trio of wind turbines cater for half the facility’s electricity requirements. If only Volvo cars are CO2-free as well…