By Debbie Maskin, IEN Staff
July 11, 2008--Five years ago, working with consultants and universities, Ford embarked on the largest brownfield redevelopment project in American history—transforming the 600 acre Rouge (Dearborn) Truck Plant site into a lean, flexible manufacturing facility. Since then the company has been recognized for its energy-saving efforts at the Rouge and other facilities. In 2007, Ford improved energy efficiency in the U.S. by 4.5%, resulting in savings of approximately $18 million. Since 2000, its U.S. facilities have improved energy efficiency by nearly 30%, equivalent to the energy used to power 260,000 homes for a year, and reduced CO2 emissions by 39% and water usage by more than 43%. (Rouge Plant today. Photo Courtesy: Ford)
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EPA's 2008 Energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence acknowledges Ford's improved lighting systems, including controls, fixtures, lamps, and ballasts, in 26 million sq ft of office, industrial, and warehouse facilities. A combination of high-efficiency fluorescent lights and motion sensors has improved lighting efficiency by 50% in Ford's parts distribution centers. Hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal power, along with landfill and waste gases, provide about 3% of the company's global energy needs. (Rouge Plant-- in 1952-- was built over a marsh with poorly draining soil. Photo Courtesy: Ford)
Living Roof for Storm Water Management
Improvements at the Rouge include the use of natural lighting and energy-saving artificial lighting in its assembly areas, and efficient heating-ventilation-cooling systems. But the most notable feature is probably the storm water management system that includes the largest living roof in the world, equal in size to 8 football fields. Sedum, a drought-resistant perennial groundcover, covers 10.4 acres of the Plant's roof, trapping dust, consuming CO2, and absorbing rain and snow to reduce the amount of storm water runoff. It also protects the roof from solar radiation and extreme temperature changes, and insulates the factory in summer and winter, reducing heating and cooling demands by 5%. A porous pavement parking lot, storm water swales, and retention ponds regulate water flow and evaporation.
According to surveys conducted by the nonprofit association, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the number of green roofs in America grew by 80% between 2004 and 2005, by 25% in 2006, and by 30% in 2007. The Rouge project provided a tremendous example at the forefront of the trend, says Steven Peck, Green Roofs president, because it demonstrated the feasiblity of large-scale sustainability projects.
Ford’s living roof grows in a lightweight, 4-layer mat called Xero flor. On top, sedum plants grow in a thin, blanket of shale, sand, peat, compost, and dolomite. Under the sedum, a layer of fleece made of recycled materials retains water to nourish the plants. Excess water seeps down to a drainage layer that channels rainwater off the roof and into natural treatment wetlands. The drainage layer is a membrane that protects the building. Because the sedum plants grow less than 6 in. tall and spread horizontally, crowding out weeds, the living roof is virtually maintenance-free.
Rouge Recycling
In 2007, recycled paper, pallets, cardboard, concrete, and scrap metal equaled the landfill disposal needs of a community of 159,580 residents,or the annual electricity needs of 21,427 homes, or enough gasoline for 426,799 miles of driving. The plant is recycling more than 5 lb of packing materials per vehicle and has improved its recycling by 37% since 2004. Basic conservation measures, such as turning off unnecessary equipment, should reduce the Plant's energy use by 6% in 2008.