Cummins’ solar project honored by energy department

The 3.62 megawatt (MW) solar farm at Cummins’ Rocky Mount Engine Plant (RMEP) in North Carolina was recognized with a 2023 Better Project Award. The recognition highlights projects in the energy department’s Better Buildings/Better Plants initiative for accomplishments in implementing and promoting practices, principles and procedures around sustainable energy management.

“Partners in the Better Plants Challenge are sharing their success and innovation to accelerate their energy efficiency,” said  Carolyn Snyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency at the DOE. “The Better Project awards highlight unique efforts to make meaningful headway in reducing energy, water, waste and greenhouse gas emissions.”  

Cummins has been part of the Better Plants Challenge since 2011.

As part of DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative, the Better Plants program works with leading manufacturers to boost their competitiveness through improvements in energy efficiency and emissions reductions. More than 270 industrial companies representing nearly 14% of the U.S. manufacturing energy footprint partner with the DOE and commit to reducing their energy intensity, typically by 25% over 10 years across all their U.S. operations.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The solar installation at Rocky Mount went on-line in September of 2022. Located on 14 acres adjacent to the plant, it is capable of producing around 5.6 million kilowatt hours of energy annually, which goes to the manufacturing facility to reduce electricity purchased from the grid.

The renewable energy generated by the solar installation is equivalent to carbon sequestered by 1,946 acres of U.S. forests annually. A solar installation in Beijing, China, is the only solar array larger than Rocky Mount's within Cummins.

Unique to RMEP, the project uses solar tracking panels allowing the panels to arc and track the sun as it rises and sets. This increases system efficiency without having to install more panels. The tracking panels were installed with ground mounts due to the project having available space and the ability to maximize system size for optimal exposure.

THE PUSH FOR SOLAR

Cummins has been putting a major push on including solar in the company’s energy mix to help meet the goals in Cummins’ PLANET 2050 environmental sustainability strategy. The strategy includes the 2030 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from facilities and operations by 50% as well as the aspiration to achieve zero emissions in the company’s operations and products by 2050.

To date, Cummins has completed 65 solar array installations at 49 locations around the world, from Australia to North America. Thirty-nine of these projects have been completed since 2019, with 18 installations in India, where Cummins has its largest solar footprint.

“We’re very proud of the work that has been accomplished at Rocky Mount and around the world,” said Laura Jones, Cummins’ Director of Eco-Efficiency for Facilities and Operations. “But we also know we have a lot of work remaining to reach our 2030 goal, and improving energy efficiency will be key.”