Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc.
Normal, Illinois
Intern: Eric Ross
Bradley University, Peoria
Mitsubishi Motors North America manufactures automobiles at a 2.5 million square
foot facility in Normal. The facility produces 115,000 vehicles a year, including
the Galant, Endeavor, Eclipse, and Eclipse Spyder models.
Mitsubishi is a member of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. By 2012,
Alliance members have pledged to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by 10 percent
from a base year of 2002. Greenhouse gas emissions primarily consist of carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide. Direct sources of greenhouse gases
emitted from the Mitsubishi facility include the running/testing of cars and the
use of natural gas. Indirect sources include equipment that uses electricity. The
intern project focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from indirect sources
at the facility.
Results:
Mitsubishi has implemented several energy, natural gas and greenhouse gas emission
reduction plans since 2002. The intern made several recommendations to further
reduce greenhouse gas emissions that included the following:
- Recover waste heat from the air compressors to heat parts of the complex during
the winter. The facility could save $54,000 a year and reduce CO2 emissions
by 1,100 metric tons.
- Delamp some of the light fixtures in the new expansion area. This could
result in saving $3,000 a year, while reducing CO2 emissions by 30 metric tons.
- Repair compressed air leaks. This could save $5,300 a year and reduce
CO2 emissions by 69 metric tons.
- Replace incandescent bulbs in exit signs with more efficient LED bulbs. This
has the potential to save $2,000 a year and reduce CO2 emissions by 15 metric
tons.
- Replace incandescent bulbs in the bingo boards with LED bulbs. The bingo boards
indicate if workstations are down at the facility. This could
save $1,500 a year and reduce CO2 emissions by 3 metric tons.
The intern also proposed that Mitsubishi create and promote a car-pooling program
for its employees. This would further reduce greenhouse gas emissions outside
of the work environment.
|
