BMW Named The Greenest Automaker Fifth Year In A Row

oh sure.

It's a popular belief, not a fact

What is the "Greenest Automobile Manufacturing Plant in the world"? That would be BMW's. Where is Toyota in that discussion? That is from the EPA.

AND ANOTHER ONE..........WHEN DO THE AWARDS STOP....keep up the GREAT WORK BMW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

whoever deboosted me is a HATER.

Huu76 and Downtoearth are well known haters

"There's a lot of competition to be seen as the world's greenest automaker – just look at the branding efforts surrounding the Toyota Prius or the Chevrolet Volt for examples – but if you look at the way an automaker designs, builds and recycles its products, then BMW is the top dog."

While your you've been brainwashed by Toyota on how awesome and green the Prius is, it's existence harms the environment. On the other hand, BMW produces it's car in an efficient way. You need to learn how to read mr huu76

huu76: Let me know when Toyota does this much for the enviroment?

Since 2002, BMW's assembly plant in Spartanburg, SC has been using methane captured from a nearby landfill site to fuel electrical generators. As part of the current expansion of the plant to support the addition of X3 production, BMW has invested another $12 million to expand power generation from methane. The original system of four turbines has been replaced by two larger, more efficient turbines. The result is that the turbines can now generate 30% of the plant's electricity needs from the same amount of methane, up from 14% with the old system. The co-generation system also uses hot water in addition to the electricity to provide 60% of all the energy required for the entire plant.

Since its inception, the methane power generation has saved BMW $5 million a year in energy costs. The methane is provided from the Palmetto landfill through a 9.5 mile pipeline. The two turbines can generate 11 MW of electricity.

[Source: BMW]


BMW MANUFACTURING EXPANDS METHANE GAS PROGRAM - Invests another $12 million to expand capacity

* 10.06.2009
* Press Release

Spartanburg, S.C. – June 10, 2009...BMW is investing another $12 million to expand the capacity and efficiency of its landfill methane "Gas-to-Energy" program.

The new system, which is nearing completion, will include two new highly-efficient gas turbine generators capable of producing 11,000 kilowatts (kW) of electricity. These two new co-generation turbines will replace four older, less-efficient turbines. The new turbines have the capability to increase electrical output from 14% up to almost 30% of the plant's current electrical demand. While the new turbines double the overall electrical output using the same amount of methane gas, through electrical and hot water generation over 60% of the plant's total energy requirements continue to be provided by methane gas produced at the nearby landfill.

"BMW's landfill gas program has been a tremendous initiative for the plant," says Josef Kerscher, President of BMW Manufacturing. "Using methane gas to power our plant is one example of our focus on environmentally-friendly production processes."

In addition to adding larger turbines and heat recovery boilers, BMW will integrate a new specialized treatment system to remove siloxanes from the methane gas (a compound common to landfill gas and potentially destructive to gas turbines). Two of the four original 1,200kW gas turbine engines will remain in place to serve as a back-up for the new system.

BMW's original landfill gas project was implemented in December of 2002 and supported by Ameresco, Inc. the original project developer, and Waste Management Inc., operator of the Palmetto Landfill located in Wellford, SC. The initial infrastructure allowed for collecting, cleaning, and compressing methane gas from the Palmetto Landfill near Spartanburg, SC, transporting it through a 9.5-mile pipeline to the BMW pla

continued :

Additional Facts:
• BMW has overseen the design, procurement, and construction of the expansion and will manage the overall operation and maintenance of the new system.
• BMW's landfill project is the only project that co-generates electricity and hot water for use at an industrial location remote from the landfill.
• By recycling methane gas, BMW is able to improve local air quality by lowering regional emissions of greenhouse gases (methane and carbon dioxide).
• For its original efforts, BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC has won several national and state environmental awards, including the 2003 South Carolina Governor's Pollution Prevention Award, EPA's Green Power Award, and EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) Project of the Year award.
• Based on calculations provided by the EPA, the reduction of 92,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide emissions is equivalent to the benefit of planting over 23,000 acres of trees annually or 30 times the size of New York's Central Park.
• To date, over 60% of the plant's total energy requirements are provided by landfill gas.


***

Oh wow! A BMW press release stating how green BMW is!

Its cars? Oh yeah, those Land Cruisers, SEQUOIAs, FJ CRUISERs, Tundras, 4runners and Prados are all saving our Earth! Thank you Toyota!