[Chevy Bolt News]

Further establishing the Chevy Bolt as an environmentally friendly vehicle, the Orion assembly plant where the EV will be built is ranked as one of the top ten green power producers in the United States.

"Building the Bolt EV in a facility that is 54 percent powered by clean energy further adds to the car's environmental credentials," says Alicia Boler-Davis, GM vice president of global manufacturing.

According to the GM, 54% of the facility is powered by clean energy produced by methane captured from decomposing trash in a nearby landfill and converted to electricity onsite and it has a 350-kilowatt solar array that sends energy back into the grid. Using these two methods, the plant has managed to save $1 million a year in energy costs and it now ranks as the 8th largest user of green power produced on site.

General Motors’ original goal was to use 125 megawatts of renewable energy by 2020 and they have managed to meet that goal and more 4 years in advance. Maybe GM will be the benchmark for the other 59 multinational companies in the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance. As one of the members of the Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers’ Principles, GM promotes the development and implementation of cost effective clean energy.

Besides generating power, the Orion assembly plant practices other methods of sustainability like its “three-wet” painting process which requires the paint to go through the oven only once thus saving energy. This change along with other similar modifications throughout the production process reduced the facility’s energy intensity by 67% in two years. Their efforts have kept 42,758 tons of CO2 emissions from being released.

GM is committed to sustainable manufacturing and we can expect to see their production facilities climb up the green power users ranks in the future.

 

[Bazinga]

Had no idea what three-wet painting was and had to look it up. Apparently, it's a process where three layers of paint can be applied one after another while still wet before taking a single trip though the oven. This cuts out the need to bake in the primer first before painting. Though I'm not sure how this would affect the paint quality.

 

[Electro]

Paint quality is definitely something of concern... Does this result in different paint thickness ? I would assume so right ... ?

 

[Bazinga]

According to Ford, the three wet process is supposed to be more durable and scratch resistant than conventional paint and will retain is gloss far longer. Not sure if that's true or not. The primer only needs a few minutes of to air dry before the finish coat is applied.

Here's the process if anyone is interested.

 

[Electro]

That was actually very entertaining to watch. Those are some seriously intricate machines there moving so seamlessly.

 

[Bazinga]

Most painting processes involves 5 steps; anti-corrosion phosphate coat, standalone primer, color coat, base coat and then clear coat. The 3 step wet process combines the primer and enamel booths but I don't see them mention the anti-corrosion phosphate coat. Hope they didn't leave that out.

 

[Electro]

I doubt that would be left out.. It's a pretty crucial step to achieve that quality that'll last. Especially coming from the manufacturer and not just another body/paint shop.

 

[Bazinga]

Is enamel the same as the anti-corrosion phosphate coat?

 

[Electro]

There are many different types of enamel, but enamel paint itself is just a hard coating to put up with some abuse like temperature variations to my knowledge.

 

[LightningBolt]

I'm sure they'll spray on a coat of anti-corrosion phosphate, the bottom of the car may be a flat layer of plastic but other area's are susceptible to the weather and rust.

 

[Electro]

For sure, they would never just leave it alone and not utilize it. Anything coming from factory needs to meet a certain standard

 

[eops]

I'm sure they'll spray on a coat of anti-corrosion phosphate, the bottom of the car may be a flat layer of plastic but other area's are susceptible to the weather and rust.

Exactly. Regardless of covers, there still are many ways for salt, dirt, etc to make its way up their, its just that the covers make it easier to keep clean from most of the crap on the road. I think even some owners manuals recommend that you wash the underbody and either spray in the gaps or just remove the covers and spray entirely.

 

[Electro]

The covers whilst helping keep the underside clean, also can do a bit of damage by storing salt and what not. Which is why removal and cleaning is absolutely necessary.

 

[Bazinga]

Where would the salt be stored? That sounds concerning if salt can somehow get around the plastic covers and into the battery area.