NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 8, 2013) — Bridgestone Americas has earned a $350,000 rebate from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Nashville Electric Service (NES) for making lighting system improvements at its LaVergne, Tenn., tire plant.
The changes at the factory have reduced the plant's power consumption since 2010 by more than 3.8 million kilowatt-hours, Bridgestone said. That amount of energy savings is equal to the energy needed to supply nearly 240 homes in the NES service area for a year, the tire maker added.
Bridgestone earned the rebate under TVA's and NES' EnergyRight Solutions for Industry program, which is designed to help manufacturers implement energy-efficiency and demand-reduction improvements.
The LaVergne plant improvements were tied to an overall plant lighting upgrade that began in 2010 to reduce energy costs and improve the quality of lighting, Bridgestone said.
"Identifying ways we can reduce our impact on the environment is ingrained in our culture as part of our 'One Team, One Planet' environmental commitment, and that is clearly evident in our manufacturing facilities," said Muneer Chowdhury, TBR facilities manager.
"This rebate will be added to the Bridgestone Americas Environmental and Energy Strategic Fund, to be re-invested in more conservation projects, further improving our efficiency and environmental performance."
Bridgestone said the TVA's EnergyRight Solutions for Industry offers a broad portfolio of new and innovative energy efficiency initiatives to industrial customers. Through 2012, the TVA's energy efficiency programs achieved a nearly 1,772 gigawatt-hour overall reduction in energy.
"Energy efficiency helps keep rates low, reduces costs associated with meeting consumer demand, conserves natural resources and produces zero emissions," said Bob Balzar, TVA vice president for energy efficiency and demand response.
"We thank Bridgestone and NES for their leadership and support of energy efficiency in Tennessee."
The LaVergne lighting upgrades will help the facility meet Bridgestone's Global goal to reduce the CO2 footprint of the entire company and its products by 35 percent from 2005-2020, Bridgestone said, with the upgrades projected to reduce CO2 emission by 4,845 metric tons annually. Additional benefits of the upgrades include reduced mercury in the newer lighting, and an anticipated reduction in LaVergne's annual power bill of nearly $190,000.
Bridgestone announced in April that its tire plants in Aiken and Wilson, N.C., have reduced the amount of waste products going to landfills to zero as part of the company's "One Team, One Planet" environmental commitment.